Sometimes you need something to happen to make you remember life’s important lessons. After unintentionally playing chicken the other morning with the Island Queen, one of those important lessons was remembered – always keep track of the time when in Hole in the Wall.
It seems like everyone out on the islands has a getting stuck in Hole in the Wall with the Island Queen coming through story. Sometimes that happens because of bad timing, sometimes because of having your boat pulled up there for jumping and best yet, running out of gas and having to change gas tanks when it’s coming through. I got my story the other morning. The Husbandman and I were out on an extended kayak trip. We decided to go to Hole in the Wall. Husbandman was out near one of the openings and I was in the center near its narrowest point. I was looking up taking pictures of the cliff for a while. When I finally went to put my camera down and looked at water level, I had quite a surprise. There was all 100+ feet of the Island Queen making the turn into Hole in the Wall. Oh crap. Husbandman was near the opening where it was coming in, so he was able to sneak around it. Being in the middle and close to the channel’s narrowest point, I had to book it to the opening on the other side. I made it out of the channel in time so I didn’t get run over or thrown over in its wake, but it was close. I survived and I got this pretty cool picture of the Island Queen to prove it.
When in Albany, I was able to go to an LL Bean retail store. I have never liked shopping, but this place seriously was shopping heaven. So much great outdoor stuff and they sold random things that I’ve been needing to get, but that I just can’t find back home. I ended up getting a pair of kayaking gloves, to help me not get blisters when I go for longer adventures. I talked to an older man that worked there for a long time about kayak paddling. After looking at my hands, he knew exactly why I was getting blisters. I guess my hands are too small for an aluminum shaft paddle. Getting the gloves will definitely help with the problem for now, but in time I may need to switch over to a carbon fiber paddle because they are smaller. Until then, the gloves should do the trick though. Here they are patting Mr. Pants on the head. They are fingerless with breathable fabric on top and leather palms. They are super comfy. I haven’t been able to try them out yet because it’s been too rough these last couple of days, but I will soon.
After watching the Chippewa cruise past our place at sunset for years now, maybe I should actually take a ride on it. I haven’t been on it for years, but I’ve always liked it a lot more than the Island Queen. It’s a lot smaller so it can get closer to the shore than a bigger cruise boat.
I kayaked out to Gull Rock the other day. It was an unscheduled visit. I was planning on just going around the bay a bit, but the Island Queen and I seemed to be playing chicken with each other, so being that she is way bigger than my kayak, I changed my course and headed out to Gull Rock. Gull Rock is just a giant rock. It’s a bit too small to be an inhabited island, so it’s just for the birds.
See? It really is just a giant rock.
You can see some of the birds sitting on it. I wonder how many live here.
Sorry about the video stopping abruptly. My camera’s memory card ran out of room.
I’ve been wanting to shoot a video going through Hole in the Wall by kayak for a long while now. Almost a week of crummy weather slowed that idea down, but a few days ago, I went for a long 7+ kayak trip and I made this video. The internet has been not completely reliable as of late, but I finally got it uploaded yesterday. So here is Hole in the Wall by kayak. Enjoy!
After having crazy winds and/or crummy days since Thursday, the wind is finally calming down and the forecast is looking ok. Since Thursday, the only calm kayaking water I could find was in this very protected cove. It took me forty minutes of kayaking in two foot waves to get there. The rain and rough water made the lake look more like a murky lagoon these last few days.
Only an hour or so after I wrote the blog about the sunsets being better here, I went kayaking to see that night’s sunset. It was pretty good and it had some neat clouds with it. I wouldn’t call it the best by any means, but it was decent nonetheless.
I was out kayaking the other night and missed the sunset, but the clouds in the east looked incredible. Though it’s rare that I photograph to the east at night, perhaps I should more often.
It almost looks like the cloud is a rainbow because it’s so colorful.
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