Last July we picked up a pair of kayaks from REI. They’ve been sitting in our basement since then, in their original packaging, just waiting for the right day. Well, today was that day. It was 65 degrees, sunny, and we didn’t have much to do this afternoon. We cracked open the packaging and loaded them onto the CR-V.
I should add that since Kyra is living with us, and we don’t want to leave her out of all the fun, we needed some sort of watercraft for her. I didn’t want to buy another kayak– not only are they pretty spendy, but we can’t haul three of them on top of the car. Instead, we picked up a standup paddleboard at Costco. It’s inflatable, which means it’s (1) cheaper, and (2) easier to transport. It came in a gigantic backpack:
It was surprisingly easy to inflate; it took a few minutes at water’s edge and we were ready. We went to Echo Lake this time, because it’s smaller and we hadn’t been on the water yet. Pepper looked like a natural.
Kyra enjoyed her SUP.
Because the wind was blowing pretty steadily, the water was choppy. It made it difficult to actually stand on the standup board, but Kyra managed to get her balance for a few minutes.
The day was beautiful, and it was so nice to take a break from paddling to float on the water and look at the mountains in the distance.
After a few hours on the water, we came back home and rinsed everything off. Our three boats had a chance to dry out in the evening sun.
It was a great day, and I love my “new” kayak. More to come.