Or - Row, Row, Row Your Boat…
We finally found, 1) Where the Cedar River empties into Lake Washington. 2) Where the Cedar River Trail ends. 3) Where we can rent kayaks. 4) and, finally, what is exactly between Coulon Park and the Wiley Post Park…aka Our Park.
We had a day of discovery and adventure upon the high seas!! A day of daring and risk-taking!! It was a fun day full of delight and discovery.
Hahaha, it was a day just meant for Kayaking!! And we did.
Right here at the Renton Rowing Center (RRC).
Here we are, two bright-eyed wanderers, ready to explore the world.
Hahahaha, what a load of hooie. We're a couple who are looking to have some fun, get some exercise and sun and pass away the afternoon.
To get to the RRC, that building right of center, we have to cross a ramp area for Boeing going from the East, or plant side, to the West side where the airfield is.
They even have a guard there to make sure you stay on your side of the pathway.
When we got there we were greeted by Justyn, a student from Oregon State in Corvallis, OR. She's a Political Science major with a minor in Secondary Education. She THINKS she wants to teach HS Government. She's young…she'll learn. I advised her to stay in school, get a Masters, reach for a PhD and teach at a University or get in with the State Department.
I also chastised her for 'thinking' she would have voted for Barry Obama. She claimed she wasn't old enough to vote in the last election but, had she been able to, she would have wasted her vote for Barry. When asked if she was having second thoughts now, she reluctantly (peer pressure, it's a bitch!!) admitted that she was and that now she was having some serious reservations.
Showing the slight glimmer of some intelligence AND maturity she said she was disappointed in the shabby and dangerous manner in which Barry was treating Israel.
You go, Girlfriend!!
Maybe there is some hope for the future after all.
Keep thinking for yourself, Justyn!!
Keep thinking for yourself!!
The girls as we get ready to launch into the Wild World of Aventure!! Looking good, Carol!!
Carol got this nice picture of our Kayaks. All ready for the open sea.
And we hit the waves!! Looking good, Carol Anne!!
We did our fair share of rowing and we did more than our fair share of drifting along and watching the world float by.
Ahoy, matey!!
Looking nautical, Carol Anne!!
Avast, ye Landlubber!!
Looking salty there, Smilin' Jack!!
Part of the floating panoply of nautical sea fowl along Lake Washington.
The Sea Gulls, taking a break.
We made it!! Hahaha, for the first 300 feet, the water is about two feet deep!! We finally broke into some deeper water and things…were just the same, but we were in deeper water!!
We were able to see all the same sights from a different perspective.
Like this Sea Plane taking off. Way cool but now even cooler when we're BOTH on the water!! Hahahaha, the simple things make me smile.
And our adventure was over. We traveled light this being our first time kayaking. Neither of us knew what to expect, really, so we went to just the basics.
I even used my oldest camera figuring I wouldn't cry so hard if this one ended up in the drink with me and ruined. Hahaha, always thinking!!
I might, and this is a mighty BIG might, take the good one next time. I might even spring for a waterproof bag (if they make one for my little camera) for the next time.
We learned a lot.
Like we can make it out and back without falling in the water. That we could actually make the silly little things go where we wanted them to. That we can have fun doing just about any silly thing.
Then, as we were leaving, we got a real treat…an unexpected treat!!
There, sitting primly on a log out among the seagulls, was a young Osprey. The Osprey is a true "Seattle Sea Hawk". They're commonly seen over large bodies of water from April to September. A number of nesting sites are found in Seattle.
To hunt, an Osprey surveys the calm waters from the air. When it spots a flash in the water, the Osprey folds its great wings and dives for the fish. An instant before it hits the water, the Osprey thrusts his talons forward to grip its slippery prey.
The Osprey may completely disappear into the water, reemerging and slapping its giant wings against the surface of the water as it regains flight.
Normally they roost in tall trees or towers, something with some elevation, so imagine our surprise when we saw this Bad Boy sitting on a log like a common Sea Gull.
It was fun watching him twist his head back and forth looking for…?
"Doing the Uh, Uh, Pigeon!!"
(Don't ask!!)
Hahaha, he's sorta lonely out there. Although he feasts on fish frequently, he is not adverse to snacking on some small sea fowl.
This one wanted a picture with the Seattle Sea Hawk, aka The Osprey.
Finally he took off, winging his way down the Cedar river and then back towards the tall buildings of the Boeing Plant.
And I got lucky, again.
I got this nice shot of him in flight.
Speaking of flight, I got this shot of a Sea Plane landing on the Lake.
"Whew, it's OK, guys!! The Big Bad Bird is gone!! Pass the word…"
In addition to the Osprey, we also saw a cormorant sitting on these logs and, while we were eating lunch, we saw a Heron flying down the river towards the lake.
Wow!! Good day!!
We had seen these guys out on the Lake and while we were eating our lunch along the Cedar River, they came paddling by, heading upriver.
A Dad and his boy, making memories.
One of the guys we met called this little park we were at, the "Skinny Park", because it is maybe 100 feet wide and a half-mile or more long along the River.
This is where the Cedar River empties into Lake Washington. Plenty of benches fronting onto the river and the airfield.
And the City of Renton does such a good job of taking care of it. Really pretty, calm and serene. And the place where all the Boeing workers come out to take their smoke breaks.
I spotted a tree that I thought would be great for wedding pictures or Quincinera pictures. In other words, it was very photogenic and, having said that I'm left wondering why I zoomed in so close for this picture.
Missed the whole scene, I did.
Hahaha, I lives and I learns.
Still, it's a nice picture of Carol.
The Skinny Park. Lots of vegetation along the riverbank. Really nice walk, the City of Renton should be proud of this park and what they've made available for everyone. And, knock on wood, so far there is no charge for it.
And they have a launch there for kayaks and paddle boards, etc., into the river and then into the lake.
And, another one of the Weeping Willow Trees.
Now you can see that this would be a good spot for some pictures.
Then, Carol spotted this…hole in the tree. It's grown into itself, twice. There's another hole like this just a bit higher and facing in a different direction.
The day was quiet and, except for the planes taking off and landing, so was the river.
We had a great day. It was fun finding new places and new things to do. We both liked kayaking and we're planning on doing it again.
It was also a treat to see so many different birds. We never expected to see that Osprey sitting on a log and watching the Heron slowly flap its wings as it sailed downriver was a real delight.
All in all a very good day.
Life is good.
Hooah!!
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