Surfer Girl

Ok, so maybe not a surfer girl, but I am now a kayaking girl.  After sleeping in yesterday, we packed lunches and took off for Newport Beach.  The temps were close to 80º; perfect weather for the beach. 

We enjoyed a picnic lunch and a little reading on the beach before heading to the Newport Bay.  Once we were there we rented two kayaks and a paddle board.  This was my first time to kayak and I was very apprehensive, especially since the clouds were low and visibility was limited. 

Pre-kayaking

Because anything we took with us would get wet, we had to leave everything in the car- including our cover ups.  Let me tell you, walking down a busy street in nothing but my swimsuit is something this conservative Texan isn't used to.  Add in there the fact that I am a good ten pounds and five shades too light for swimsuit season and you can imagine how I felt!  

Once in the harbor, J and I got in our kayaks and C on his paddle board.  At first I was clumsy and all over the place, but once I got in a rhythm it was smooth kayaking.  It was really cool to be surrounded by huge sailboats.  At one point we were able to kayak right up to the Virgin/Google catamaran.  The picture below is of the exact one we rowed up to, only it's from the internet since I wasn't able to take my camera on our journey.

http://www.virginoceanic.com/archives/category/news/page/2/

They race these all over the world.  It was massive!  When we spotted it we were on the other side of the bay.  We had just paddled through a class of beginning sailors.  There were probably about twenty sailboats to our left, all practicing turns.  For my central American friends that have never seen sail boaters, let alone beginners, the best way I can describe the scene is to tell you to imagine a fleet of boats coming toward you and about the time they are close enough to bump into you, they turn.  BUT, since they are beginners the boats actually flip onto their sides and look as though the are going to flip over.  Sitting in a kayak a few feet from this was a bit intimidating, to say the least.

Once we had gotten a little ahead of the sail boaters we decided to cross over to get a closer look at the catamaran.  J AKA Pocahontas led the way.  I kid you not, as soon as we turned our kayaks, twenty more sailboats appeared on the horizon.  I felt like I was suddenly thrust into a Pirates of the Caribbean movie.  J and I turned around to see where C was.  In between us and the fleet of boats to our right, we discovered the original twenty sailboats had appeared again to our left.  And there, in the middle of them was C paddling in between them on his little paddle board.  The theme song to the old Atari game, Frogger, started playing in my head.  It was so hysterical (and a bit frightening) to see Huck Finn taking on the sailboats. 

As we were crossing we saw two seals close to the catamaran.  I've seen seals in Alaska and they were impressive, but I have never been sitting in the water and seen them in close proximity.  We stopped to watch.  They went under the water and in a few seconds suddenly appeared close to us.  We got as excited as five-year-olds and started quickly paddling toward them.  We were able to get within about fifteen feet of the two seals.  I can honestly say that being that close to them in their natural habitat is, to date, one of the top three best experiences of my life.  It was truly surreal.

Once we were back on shore, J and I tried paddle boarding.  I don't know how C did it for two hours!  I fell the first time I got on it and never really felt comfortable after that.  Before coming out here J had shown me a picture of yoga classes conducted on paddle boards.  I'm not sure what possessed me, but I decided to try a yoga pose on the paddle board before my turn was over.  I didn't go for anything hard like a back bend or bird, I just tried warrior pose.  I was able to do warrior one and warrior two before I fell in the cold water.  I did NOT, I repeat, did NOT look like the lady in this picture (body nor grace), but the picture below will give you at least a mental image of what I was going for.

http://mexicopaddleboardyoga.blogspot.com/

We paddled around Lido Island for two hours. Kayaking in the ocean was an awesome experience!  And, I have my first tan lines of the season in March.  I can't wait to go home and find places to kayak. 

We ended the night with J's flautas on the patio, laughing at C's Huck Finn experience and watching a movie.  Great ending to a great day!

Today we are going to spend the afternoon on another beach reading, laying out and swimming.  We're planning on watching the sunset there, too.  I am such a water girl.  I LOVE water and think I'd be on the beach everyday if I lived here.  I am not looking forward to heading back home tomorrow.