Birthday Paddle

Sunday morning I did the bike ride through Baker Park to check on the Lake ... sure enough, the lake was open. The wind was blowing pretty good, so I figured any ice around the island would surely be broken up, and not a problem. John called me around noon for a lake update, I gave him the lets go, and we were on the lake by 2pm.

Lots of ice along the shoreline, but Independence is roughly 850 acres, so we had plenty of lake to play on. When we tried to get around the islands we did find the path blocked with ice. We also ran across 3 pelicans who, like us, were looking to get out of the wind for a bit. They didn't like the fact we were there so off they went to find another sheltered area. When we paddled around the island we saw maybe 30 ducks sitting along the shoreline, John says "what kind of ducks are those?" I couldn't give an answer, they just didn't look right. When we got closer we discovered they were plastic ducks. Along with two hunters sitting in the reeds.

We even got in some cold water rescue practice .. John has been using his new wing paddle, and I think they are a little unforgiving when used for bracing. Although I did get some time with Alex's wing paddle, and learned some basics, I've yet to spend some real quality time with a wing paddle. So I am not the go-to person for wing paddle instruction. Anyway, sure enough, John is a little ahead of me, and I see the boat go over ... is he going to try and roll up?!? No ... I am thinking, that the water is pretty cold, and he might like some help getting back into his boat. An uneventful T rescue, and a short search for the offending wing paddle, and we are on our way back to the beach.

Really a nice way to spend a 52nd birthday.