Rudies on the Waves [Archive]

Oak Kitten

08-13-2007, 04:14 PM

Finally got around to developing my pics from Wendy's visit in June. These were taken with a disposable camera as I did not want to risk dropping a real camera into the Chesapeake Bay.

After an inauspicious start in which she was almost drowned on the beach, our intrepid Aussie heroine seems to be getting the hang of it. . .

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/rbalano/WendyinKayak.jpg

Now she's putting on some speed, mostly to get away from Oak and that annoying camera. . .

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/rbalano/KayakWendy.jpg

On the beach of a remote desert island, a feral Oak Kitten is spotted in her natural habitat. . .

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/rbalano/OakinTree2.jpg

Wendy stuns the fashion world by modeling the latest in kayaking haute couture. . .

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/rbalano/WendyinSpraySkirt.jpg

That's all, folks!

Roady

08-14-2007, 06:49 AM

Hey Oak, you left out the photo of Wendy doing her Eskimo roll! ;) Cool pics; especially like the one of you up in the tree. How cold was the water in June? I always worry about hypothermia.

david uk

08-14-2007, 06:59 AM

Excellent pics, Oak :)

saxman

08-14-2007, 11:14 AM

i have some Pictures of Wendy and her friend dee from when they came to Visit me in Calif .i wish i knew how to put them up here . i have a couple of them at the Labrea Tar pits in L.A. standing next to a sabre Tooth tiger and a Mammoth Elephant Hmmmm Ill try to figure out how to do it ,im not to computer friendly. Nice pics by the way . see ya

aabram

08-14-2007, 11:20 AM

Mike, have you got a Photobucket account? I remember you posting some stunning photogaphs of birds last year, and I thought you knew how to do it

Oak Kitten

08-14-2007, 03:49 PM

Hey Oak, you left out the photo of Wendy doing her Eskimo roll! ;) Cool pics; especially like the one of you up in the tree. How cold was the water in June? I always worry about hypothermia.

Roady,

The Chesapeake Bay is pretty warm. Right now it is like a warm bath. Unfortunately, run-off from area farms (chicken sh*t), overuse of fertilizers and failed residential septic systems have taken a major toll on the Bay. There are large dead zones where there is not enough oxygen to support life.
We have local volunteers who take water samples and post the bacteria count on the internet. Most of the time, you don't want to be in the water. There needs to be some serious butt-kicking on the environmental front to get the bay cleaned up - mostly it is a matter of political will - and a recognition on the part of those who live on and near the bay that they are part of the problem and need to change their behavior. No mean feat.

Oak

lucille

08-14-2007, 10:33 PM

...was a great movie, made in Melbourne. It is old but nevertheless worth a looksee.

Thanks Oak, I even look a little toned in the right arm - just shows how cameras can lie. "Nearly drowned on the beach" hmmmmff, that was where I tried the eskimo roll:D Dee and I have decided we are going to get ourselves some kayaks this coming summer as we think it is an excellent way of toning up.

I have a few photos on photobucket

http://s85photobucket.com/albums/k67/lucille_05/

I am still trying to find time to do the rest.

Today is the first days since I got back (3 weeks ago) that I feel close to normal. I have really been under the weather, and the actual weather hasn't been too good either.:(

Oak Kitten

08-15-2007, 04:11 PM

Sorry to hear you haven't been feeling well, Wendy but glad to hear you are improving. You need to check that link to Photobucket - I get a "server not found" message. Say Hi to Dee for me.

Oak

Eva

08-15-2007, 05:33 PM

Lovely pictures. It looks like an unforgetable holliday. And Oak is fun. I had the privelige of meeting her for a day.

Eva

Oak Kitten

08-15-2007, 07:57 PM

Lovely pictures. It looks like an unforgetable holliday. And Oak is fun. I had the privelige of meeting her for a day.

Eva

Thanks, Eva. That was a great day in Rotterdam with you and Marjan and Annette and Corita. You all were great company.

Oh, and Wendy, just remember what I told you about not letting the kayak get paralell to the waves. You and Dee will have a great time.

Oak

Bat

08-16-2007, 06:00 PM

Wendy, I'm sorry you weren't feeling well enough to continue your trip...I was really looking forward to seeing you in CA when I was out there in July...wanted to include you in the great dinner party we had with Dar and other friends and family of mine. Glad you're on the upswing, and hope you are back to your hale and healthy self very quickly!

Eva

08-16-2007, 06:05 PM

I hope you didn't lose that keen sense of fashion Wendy... :D ;)

Eva

Marcia Drummergal

08-17-2007, 11:34 AM

KarenSews2

08-17-2007, 11:43 AM

It was one of those "can't get there from here" things. She was supposed to leave from San Francisco, but had to go to LA instead. And that was with a delay of quite a few days to get here, rerouting, wrong flight booked, etc.

aabram

08-17-2007, 12:46 PM

Mike, I've Pmed you

Annabel

lucille

08-17-2007, 11:50 PM

Yeah MrsSews2, and I hate to talk about something as boring as the weather, but it WAS the weather that intervened in the main causing cancelled flights, and then I was unable to hook up with the frequent flyer schedule. If anyone is interested the only Qantas Frequent Flyer flight from Chicago (not that I got there) to San Francisco is once a week, on Tuesdays at 6:00AM !!!

I have yet to hear from FF how they solve these weather anomalies.

It has been ages since I last visited SF, and was really looking forward to it and particularly seeing Bat and Dar again. Oh well, only ten months or so before we all meet up again:) It's scary how time flies.

Oak Kitten

08-18-2007, 03:54 PM

Today is an absolutely gorgeous day! No humidity, low eighties. John is working today in Virginia. I decided I could not stay in the house on a day like this, so I took the kayak down to the bay for what I expected would be a leisurely paddle.

Now, one would think that someone who has been in the navy for more than 20 years would have enough sense to look at the wave action on the bay before launching. But my career has been in the cubicle navy, I am not a real sailor like Mr. Oak, who would have pointed out to me there was a VERY strong onshore breeze and WHITECAPS.

So I launch myself off the beach and paddle out past the breakwater, and then things start to get interesting. The waves are coming fast, about 2-3 feet high, which doesn't sound like much, but when you are in a kayak, that's pretty significant. At first it was fun, I like a bit of a challenge, but then I realized that with the waves coming high and heavy like that there was no way I could paddle parallel to the shore. I'd have to paddle out at an angle and execute a very fast turn to avoid letting the boat get parallel to the waves and capsize me.

First turn went off without a hitch. So now I have my back to the oncoming waves and am paddling toward the shoreline. Then this friggin' waspy thing lands on my forehead, just under the brim on my hat and is starting to crawl behind my glasses. Yikes! So I pull my hat off and the lanyard gets snagged in my glasses. I am BLIND without my glasses. So now I am holding my glasses with one hand, while the hat is catching the wind and threatening to carry them off and into the bay. These are brand new glasses, and it would cost about $600 to replace them.

So while I am trying to untangle the hat lanyard from my glasses, I am obviously not paddling and the kayak is doing its own thing. I realize I am drifting parallel to the waves. Not good, but I can't let go of my glasses. Screw the hat. It flies into the water, but I did manage to retrieve it.

I get my glasses back on and paddle to shore, where I stop for a few minutes to reassess the situation. If I hauled the kayak out of the water from the main beach it would be a very long way to haul it back to the house, most of it uphill. So I shoved back off and braved the waves a second time. I put in to shore in a different spot from where I launched, but it was closer to home than the main beach.

So that proved to be a short adventure, but at least I didn't capsize. If the weather is this nice tomorrow, but the breeze is as stiff as today, I think I'll take a walk instead.

Oak

Dar

08-20-2007, 03:12 PM

It has been ages since I last visited SF, and was really looking forward to it and particularly seeing Bat and Dar again. Oh well, only ten months or so before we all meet up again:) It's scary how time flies.

Hey there Wendy! I'm glad to hear you're planning on coming back next year! Peggy is going to join us too, so you'll get to meet her after all.

Bat

08-21-2007, 01:42 PM

So that proved to be a short adventure, but at least I didn't capsize. If the weather is this nice tomorrow, but the breeze is as stiff as today, I think I'll take a walk instead.

Chicken. Put a couple rocks in the bottom for ballast and put up a sail...much easier. You can steer with your paddle, and use it for sideboards, too. Heh heh.:eek: