My Kinda House

Mission Beach

We managed to get another kayak trip in a few weeks ago, when the rainy weekends gave us a welcome break with some sunshine and clear skies.  As we paddled along the beach and through the channel, we admired the diversity as we casually floated by all the different types of houses that dotted the shore line.  There's no shortage of variety in the homes along the waterway of Woody Island Channel.  Tiny little cottages, dilapidated trailers, modest lodges, and magnificent cabins all drifted by us as we rowed our way toward Near Island from our launching point at Mission Beach.

Behold...the Turd!  :)

It was our second kayaking trip together since we picked up a used kayak for me a few months ago.  I say kayak, but the running joke is that it's a plastic bathtub.  Hubby's kayak is all sleek, slim and sexy...it even has a damn rudder!

And then there I am bumbling along in my extra-stable, super-wide blue plastic bathtub that I've come to lovingly call the turd.  Sure it floats, and it's relatively easy to manuever, but it's not going to win any awards in the style department.  That being said, kayaking around Kodiak - regardless of what kind of boat you happen to be in - is pretty remarkable.

And here we have Mr. Sleek

On this trip out I was in total awe of the huge expanse of the underwater world we were just bobbing along the top of.  The water was so crystal clear that we could see all the way to the bottom where the abundance of sea grass, alien looking fields of kelp and other-worldly jellyfish dominated the whole scene.   I tried to get some pictures of the jellyfish - yet another National Geographic moment up here - but I just couldn't capture them.

We saw some of the usual suspects on our jaunt - Bald and Golden Eagles, and a sizable sea lion who swam close enough to our boats to make me hyper aware of where he was and exactly what he was up to.  They're seriously enormous.  As the hubby says, "They don't call them sea kittens!"  He's damn right about that one.  One could easily tip you over if it was so inclined. They do outweigh us by about 1,000 pounds.

One of the entertaining parts of our day was admiring some of the waterfront homes along the route we took.  Wow!  What a stunning view those privileged folks have out their windows.  I saw one cabin high up on a ridge with giant floor to ceiling windows, and a beautiful telescope sitting on a tripod at the window.  Just waiting for the spectacular night skies to emerge.  I bet it's something to see - right from your own living room.  My pick of all the huge, somewhat over the top homes along the way was this head turner:

One of my favorite houses we saw

I just love the combination of the warm wood tones, the stone foundation, and the tall windows.  The stairs down to the water with a kayak within easy reach, the shaded upper patio area with the hot tub that you can't really make out here...it's just such a spacious, beautiful location with a lovely view of the water.  My kinda house! In some sort of alternative reality where we have waterfront property, anyway.  It was fun to marvel at, though.

I'm betting that winter kayaking around the island will be just as beautiful. Might need to invest in a dry suit before I tackle that.  The Turd is stable, but I wouldn't want to take any chances.  Winter water in Kodiak?  Brr!

Ta-ta for now.