3/9/08 Had I realized that the time change was on for last night, I would have started my paddle today a bit later, but there I was meeting Barb at the secret beach at 8:15--too early in my opinion even without losing an hour. When we hit the water, Henry and Kathy glided up already with a loop of the island in their belt. Doesn't anyone sleep late anymore!!! There was talk about of some wind in the immediate future, but for now it was a great day to paddle. The paddle out was dotted with kayaks--fishermen and others, all enjoying the early morning quiet. The sky was mostly clear despite the misty fog in the distance except for a clearly discernable bank of fog that had descended on Dana Point 12 miles distant. I used Henry's ongoing recovering from shoulder surgery as an excuse to keep a mild pace rather than admit any fatigue from my fast paced Saturday paddle. No one argued against Crystal Cove for a destination. We shared stories of foggy paddles past while dolphins passed us in the distance. To our left, 5 kayakers angled the water below the kelp beds while more out to sea, we stopped to chat with more early morning paddlers. We kept our eye out for Dave O. who was might to be out earlier to do a longer paddle than us pikers. Even at our lazy pace, we were soon abreast of the cottages where we declared that for a true paddle to Crystal Cove, you must at least reach the Green House, although I added a codicil that when on an arm rattling pace with Chuck Freedman, you can turn back at the first cottage! It was nice to just hang out floating a while and chatting at CC, no one seeming in a rush to head home. We took the inside passage on our way home so I could visit BAR which I had ignored on the way out. With a high tide, I hurried back for a quick arch run so as not to hold up the group. BAR today seemed to be the only place anyone was sleeping late, as it was covered by a large flock of pelicans. To punish me for my early morning intrusion, they crapped on my boat from stem to stern and I paddled home smelling like the Dana Point jetty! Inside the harbor, we saw a kayaker heading our way with the unmistakable stroke of Dave O. We wondered if perhaps he had forgotten the time change, but in a hurry to get in his paddle, we didn't get a chance to ask. With the early start, the paddle seemed over way too early, so we headed to the Fireside for our aprhs paddle brunch. Mark Sanders www.sandmarks.net *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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