I have not been kayaking since May 14, 2018. That same week, at the time, was one of the worst week's I've experienced as an adult. It was a Monday and the weather was nice so I thought I would strap Erika's kayak to the top of the Escape and head down to Lake St. Clair. I had a few geocaches I wanted to get and I brought along some snacks and water because I would be out there for about two hours or so. Ben was on a 24 hour shift so I really didn't have to be anywhere.
The next day I woke up and felt off. I was working back in the mail room and had to leave at 9 a.m. because I didn't feel very well. I am not one who usually leaves when I don't feel well but I felt pretty bad. I put in my leave and went home to sleep it off. It's happened to me four times since 2014 and it feels like kidney stones but it only lasts a day and no kidney stone comes out. I was in bed most of the day and felt better by the evening after some puking.
Wednesday was the worst day of them all. I was a little hazy from the day before but felt good enough to go to work. That afternoon, my life literally changed forever. My grandmother Eileen had a stroke. I was devastated. It sure took a toll on me because I didn't want to face the reality that it was actually happening and the thought that something bad could actually happen that could take her away from us. My mind throughout those three months I was in a calm panic. In my mind I was panicking and a total wreck but on the outside I was trying so hard to keep it together. It took a toll on me and my family. I was in utter despair.
It was hard for me to want to go kayaking again because for a while I blamed it on why so many bad things were happening to me. I know it's ridiculous but that is how I felt for almost three years.
Then the 2020 pandemic came and I wanted to go do something rather than sitting at home all the time doing nothing. So I insisted that Ben get a kayak so we can go together. It was hard to get a kayak because so many other people were doing the same thing because people were bored. He did manage to get one (and a paddle) really late last summer and we really weren't able to go because we got busy with other things and the weather starting turning.
Early June of this year we spent some time on OfferUp looking at the hardware so we could transport the kayaks on my new Escape I got in April. We got the J racks from a guy in Puyallup for $75 and the cross bars from a guy in Lacey for $100. Ben and I figured that we saved at least $150 by purchasing the equipment used instead of new. Both sets of hardware were in very good condition and we got a smashing deal out of it. Ben spent some time fastening the pieces to the top of the Escape. We had bought some strap downs a few months back with one of our gift cards when we bought the hitch for Ben's Edge.
That Friday, Ben got off work early for the holiday weekend and I suggested that we go kayaking after I was done with work at 4. He said that was a great idea and I helped him take the kayaks down from the rafters so he could put them on the Escape as I finished working. I fed the kitties, grabbed some towels, our water, a pen and our water shoes and we jumped in the Escape and drove to Lake St. Clair.
Once we got to the boat launch and we got out to unload, it was hotter than I thought it was. It has been a while since I've been to this lake. It seemed like there were a bunch of new houses on the shoreline. My plan was to pick up some caches in the northeast corner of the lake and to stop by ones that I already had but Ben needed. We embarked on Ben's maiden voyage.
We paddled out to the northeast corner of the "octopus" lake checking my phone to see how far we were from Dragon at Turtle Cove (GC885EG). I felt like I've been out this way before with Bob many years ago. I'm sure there have been many archived caches that I've gotten and now there's a new one here. We were getting closer to ground zero and I checked the hint, which there wasn't one, but we knew it was going to be hanging off a piece of tree or a limb just so we can maneuver the kayaks in the correct position to start looking. I was able to get into the spot to start searching for it. I found the container, got out my pen, signed our names and Ben took my photo. I put it back and it took a while to get out of that spot because I had to do it backwards.
I checked my phone and told Ben where approximately where the next one was on the lake. We started paddling towards that shoreline. Where, Oh Where Did My Mermaid Go? (GC5MQ8P) was, according to the hint, tied to a piece of an old abandoned dock. I told Ben we were looking for an old dock or something that looked like an old dock. After some quick searching, we did find it and I had Ben paddle over to retrieve the cache container. He didn't have the pen so I had to throw it to him and of course I missed and it went into the lake. Good thing pens float. He signed our names and we put it back. I saw a rogue black paddle along the shoreline so I paddled to it. I grabbed it, took a look at it and decided to take it with me. It was in good shape and just needed to be cleaned up. Now, when I get my own kayak, I don't have to spend $70-80 on a paddle.
I told him we had time for about one more and he agreed. There was another traditional cache, I Can See My House From Here (sorta, kinda) (GC5MQ8P), just south of us along the shoreline. It was one I already found back in 2013 with Bob so I let Ben lead the way. We got to the location and didn't find anything even after reading the hint and past logs. I told Ben this one could be missing. We looked for a few more minutes and had to call it. Ben logged his DNF right then and there.
We got out of the downed trees along the shoreline and paddled back to the boat launch. There were quite a few people out enjoying paddle boards, fishing boats and party barges. We got out, drained the small amount of water we had inside the kayaks out, carried them over to the Escape and I helped Ben put them back on top and secured them down. We got in and I asked Ben what we wanted for dinner. He suggested teriyaki. We drove to the teriyaki place by our house, ordered and went back to unload the kayaks since we had to waste about 20 minutes. By the time we were done, we drove back, picked up our food and ate it while we watched an episode of I Can See Your Voice.
After dinner, I went and picked up the truck in Rainier and when I got there, Mom was out in the backyard suspecting she had lost a chicken to a raccoon. I chatted with Mom and Dad for a few minutes and then went over to Grandma's house to load up her garbage cans. I went home and helped Ben load up our recycle and garbage cans so they were ready to go the next morning. We got cleaned up, watched some American Dad, I worked on my blog, logged my caches from the lake and got ready for bed.
Next Adventure: 4th of July
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