As I got older, my Happy Place changed. There was that certain corner in the hay loft, that certain branch in the catalpa tree, that certain cedar that hung out over the gulley in the back section of the farm. The Happy Place can be anywhere one finds it - when I was young it was often on the back of my horse - now it's on the lake in my kayak.
Thirteen feet eight inches of green plastic; wide in the middle and pointed at each end. A seven foot aluminum shaft with oddly shaped plastic bits at both ends. Doesn't sound like much, does it? But oh the places we go!
Sometimes we're out on the Great Lake, nothing but tall billows of mysterious blue between me and Canada. There's an edge of excitement and fear. Tipping here would be disaster, can't let the current pull me sideways, paddle, paddle, paddle, hang on....now, turn and stroke hard! Then a deep sigh as I glide safely back into the harbor and an irrepressible urge to giggle nervously as I've cheated the waves one more time.
Sometimes we're out on the Bay, calmer, more protected, much more shallow - yet if the wind picks up still a challenge. It's invigorating to paddle straight out, slicing into each wave, the bow slapping down in the trough, spray flying, a ferocious grin on my face. Or it's a quiet day, and I paddle lazily, letting the tide take me where it will as I lose myself in watching the drops fall from the end of my paddle and shatter into brilliant reflections.
Sometimes we're out under a hot sun on an airless August afternoon, the water flat and green, egrets slowly stalking the shallows and glaring at us when we get too close. I slump back in the seat, legs up over the edges of the cockpit, feet trailing in the water 'til even that isn't cooling enough and I roll out, falling into the delicious green coolness and swim for a while, my kayak patiently waiting on it's tether.
Sometimes we get to the edge of the water, and God says "not today".
Sometimes we'll float down a river, drawn along by wondering what is around each bend; startled by fishermen on the bridge yelling when we catch their unseen filament lines with our paddles and instinctively ducking as a beet truck thunders across the highway bridge just as we pass under.
Sometimes we'll travel to a new put-in and discover new views, like a towering rock shaped like a turnip or small caves in the shoreline that are invisible from land.
Sometimes we go out when the mist has come in, and all is shrouded in white mystery. The sun becomes shy and peeks out every so often to see if we're still there. Everything is perfectly calm and sounds carry for miles, each stroke of the paddle sending watery echoes to the shore. The reflection of the house behind us somehow lays out in front of us and we're paddling over the image of the back door - which is on the opposite side of the house! After experiencing that, I wasn't quite sure we were going to make it back to the same reality we had left just an hour before.
Sometimes we'll load the kayaks on the trailer and head out for adventures up north.
And sometimes we go out so late in the season that everyone else has given up for the year. We paddle past closed up cottages, with boats in their yards, sleeping under tarps. We work our way around large pieces of ice, oak leaves frozen perfectly flat into the surface. Stopping to take a picture gets a little more complicated when I realize the breeze has pushed my kayak up onto the shore ice, and I have to use my paddle like a ski pole to push back off into the water.
We've had some adventures, my kayak and I. The green is beginning to look a bit faded; there are bumps and bruises and many, many scratches; the paddle is battered and scraped, all of it mute testimony to hours of fun. And each time I haul my boat out I am again so thankful to my Mom for introducing me to kayaking, and buying my boat for me. Thanks Mom! Many times she and my daughter are along for these wonderful adventures, which makes my Happy Place even happier.
And we keep looking for converts! Friends that visit are often dragged out to the water with nothing more than a 'try this you'll like it', and after paddling around for a bit, most whole-heartedly agree. It's so much fun to see someone else get bit by the paddling bug, and I always hope that I've helped them find a Happy Place.
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