We’ve been extremely busy lately (work, beaches, travel, geocaching, work, beaches) but I found some time on Sunday morning to partake in an activity which sadly I have not enjoyed in many years, sea kayaking. I used to kayak infrequently but I always took pleasure in a long paddle in open water, be it the Apostles Islands or the St. Croix and Namekagon National Scenic Riverway. I figured moving to an island surrounded by Puget Sound would allow many possibilities to paddle. It has, I just haven’t taken advantage.

So off I went to Back of Beyond’s rental facility and five minutes later I was paddling through Eagle Harbor. I left my GPS in my panniers attached to the boat deck so the first order of business was paddling to Pritchard Park so I could start recoding the tracklog (I really love tracklogs).

From the mouth of Eagle Harbor I turned around and paddled through the marina to see the area from a different vantage point – great decision! While I have no photos, I have some great memories.

Did you know Blue Herons nest in trees? I didn’t until Sunday.

I saw a Kingfisher come to a complete stop mid-air flapping it’s wings like it was treading air, find nothing and take off.

Even cooler was watching a Red-tailed Hawk fly overhead, find nothing, land in a tree and then launch again circling overhead. I quickly moved the boat into position and was rewarded with a court-side view of it dive bombing a small silver fish which it grabbed in its talons – all of about 30 feet from me.

But best of all was being greeted on shore by my daughter who now wants to go “kay-ak-ing” with dad!

I love living here.