Summer of Love

I debated whether to call this post Summer of Love or Labor of Love.  Running a kayaking business is a bit of both.  This summer seems to be flying by.

Running a kayak business isn't all fun and games.  There is a lot of "invisible work" that goes into running the business.  Countless hours are spent on the phone, replying to emails, writing newsletters, scheduling, managing photos, posting on social media, planning trips, cleaning and maintaining gear, bookkeeping, managing the website, banking, and the list goes on.  In our 10th season I am learning to take it in stride and finding humor and enjoyment in it.  One question I got this summer was about our return policy - I could have verbatim rattled off LFK's cancellation/no show policy.  Instead, I responded "Our goal is to bring'em back alive."

Poster that I created for the Mendocino Coast Chamber of Commerce.

This summer, I am spending a lot of time guiding our wildlife and nature history tours on the Noyo River Estuary.  I love it!  Each trip is different. Our trips often include first time kayakers that don't know how to swim, families with kids of all ages, as well as seasoned paddlers.  I like to challenge myself to improve my teaching and guiding methods to meet the individual needs and interests of all participants on the trip.

I really enjoy incorporating my knowledge of the natural world into the kayaking experience - aka "nerding" out on nature.

Doe and fawns checking out the kayakers on the Noyo River.

With the maturity of our business, I am continuing to learn how to create time to enjoy life within the busy summer season - and making Jeff do it too.  At the end of the day, we are dog tired.  We often go to bed early but with smiles on our faces.

Jeff and I enjoying dinner that we caught and grew. 

Carving time out for life means regular mountain bike rides, trail running, kayak surfing, kayak fishing, time with friends and sometimes quiet time with a book.  Last week, we managed to slip away to the South Fork American to connect with some friends and run whitewater.

Kayak fishing on the Mendocino coast.

Our summer garden is producing.  It is so nice to come home and pick fresh vegetables for dinner.  Our winter crop of kale continues to produce, and we have been eating it as well as fresh broccoli, zucchini, and lettuce.  The cabbage is starting to make nice heads and the tomatoes and cucumbers are coming along.

Last week, I was wishing I had some fresh potatoes to go with the rock cod that we just caught.  I was doing some digging in the garden and unexpectedly found a fresh batch of red potatoes.  Fresh kale and potatoes from our garden and fish that we caught in the ocean. YUM!

Food of our labor - fish we caught and vegetables from the garden.

All is not perfect of course.  The house is a bit of a mess.  Oh, well - its summer time!

Mountains to the Sea - Day 8

To the Sea!

We awoke on day 8 ready to complete our mission of kayaking 169 miles of the Eel River from the mountains to the sea.  The early days were fun with lots of whitewater and wilderness.  The past couple of days were scenic but primarily flat water with glimpses of the 101 highway and sights and sounds of civilization.

River view of the gas stations and conference center at Riverwalk in Fortuna, CA.

The Eel River Brewery is one of our favorite stops on all of our travels along the 101 corridor in Humboldt County.  We thought it would be fun to hop out of our kayaks and pop in for a beer on the last day of our trip.  We have been enjoying the fast moving current but it rushed us along too early for beer at Eel River.

The river is quite flat now and meanders through the farmlands of Fortuna and Ferndale.

Checking out the historic Fernbridge at Ferndale, California.

When we hit the historic Fernbridge, Jeff dug out his cell phone and makes our extraction call.  Our friend Hawk Martin (owner of Humboats at the time) was going to pick us up at the beach.

After passing Fernbridge, we anticipate landing within the next 1.5 hours.  Jeff makes the extraction call.

We were surprised to still be seeing signs of the dilapidated Eel River Railroad.

We knew we were getting close to the ocean when we started seeing barnacles on the logs and harbor seals swimming.

As we got closer to the ocean, we could see the surfzone and waves breaking.  We also discovered that we were being swept out to sea very quickly.  We were too far in the middle of the river to get to shore before hitting the ocean and surf.  Oh well, we got to end our trip surfing a wave back onto the beach.

Our Eel River mountains to the sea journey was special in many ways.  It was my first multi day kayak camping trip.  It was a special time for Jeff and I - just the 2 of us for 8 days in the wilderness.  This trip was one of the best weeks of my life - whitewater kayaking in the wilderness with my sweetie.  Since this trip, we have done numerous overnight kayak trips on the Pacific Ocean and on different rivers.  Self support kayak river trips continue to be my favorite.  I am already looking forward to the next one.

Mission Accomplished! 169 miles on the Eel River from the mountains to the sea.  We are still smiling.
Photo by Hawk Martin