Mountains to Sound Relay

Sunday came and we needed to head out relatively early to Sammamish Slough for the relay - the initial estimate was that Laurel would get done with her biking leg sometime between 11-11:30 and we'll have to start our paddling then. So, we hauled the kayak down there and set it near the water by 9:30, then wandered over to Victor's for coffee and breakfast (Seriously, racetime is one of those few instances when I have *zero* appetite, anything I try eating seems to taste like cardboard!). We hung out there for a good hour and stared out the window as it got increasingly windy and rainy as we waited for Han to call us about our paddling leg.

Well, it was past 11:30. And we heard the not-so-good news. Han fell off her mountain bike navigating a sharp turn and damaged the handlebars in the process, which in turn delayed Laurel. Hmm ... as we waited around (almost 12:30), we heard news about people getting lost on the bike trail. Finally, we hit the water a few minutes before 1 pm. By then, it was pretty overcast and it had been drizzling on and off. Guess we got our wish - we were among the last ones out and pretty much had the slough to ourselves! :)

Hmm ... a couple of miles in and we're both thinking "Maybe kayaking this route just 2 days ago wasn't such a fabulous idea!" Our arms were hurting some, but the bigger deal was that the route seemed a little ... well, boring?! Friday had been a much prettier day, we had seen a lot more birds then, sunday was kind of dreary, we had waited forever before starting and the birds seemed to have gone away. *bleh*!

So, after endless paddling, we finally got to Lake Wa - only to be caught in incredibly choppy water! We paddled around relentlessly, trying really hard to head to the shore at Log Boom Park, only to keep getting turned around by the waves. Quite freaky! Finally headed to shore, then a long ride to Redmond to get the car, another long ride to drop the kayak off. Yeeesh, *so* much of work! :)