Into The Blue

So, on Friday The Boy and I left for a weekend long kayaking trip in Tamales Bay. We left and met up with four other folk Friday evening at a really cute little hostel (Pt. Reyes Hostel) -- which, although it was cute, the beds were too hard for me and I couldn't sleep too well. Anyway, the hostel is out in the middle of nowhere and is right where there's some great hiking. On our way up, we passed really close by some tule elk (which were also all around our campsite later on), and after we got there we learned how to play the game "Citadels."

Saturday, we pick up our permits, 4 dozen oysters, then got our kayaks and went off to paddle around in the bay to our campsite -- and went through a huge grouping of jelly fish! So cool. Anyway, first we stopped off at an abandoned artist colony where there was a rope swing to play around and explore. It was really cool to look around in the abandoned houses and to see what all was still there -- I actually found a letter in one of the houses from 1995, so they've been abandoned for at least 12 years -- and it was interesting to see how much the plantlife took over the houses in just that amount of time. One of the houses had these gorgeous vines hanging through the roof into an upstairs room (later found out to be poison oak, to the dismay of others).

Eventually, we got to our beach at low tide and hauled the kayaks up to the high tide point. With the space the fire circle already made there took up, there was just enough space for our four tents when the tide came up to the highest point. We sat around for a bit enjoying the wine that was brought before going on a hike, which was a little challenging at first due to the wine, but it got easier. We found a big group of tule elk and sat on a hill to watch them wander around and call out to each other. They sounded amazingly cool.

Dinner on Saturday was shrimp salad, olive bread, and raw oysters. Yes, I tried an oyster....but it was hard getting past the idea that it is (A) alive when you crack it open, and (B) possibly still alive when you swallow it. It was extremely salty, but that probably was partly due to the point that I tipped most of the liquids out -- which included the lemon juice. After dinner, we sat around and sang songs until around 10:30 or 11:00 at night, when we all decided to crash. Before going to bed, though, I pointed out the bioluminescence in the bay at the water's edge to a few folk. I was apparently the one person who had seen it before (thank you Catalina trip in 8th grade) and when I heard that the bay was bioluminescent, I made a point to remember to poke around at the water with a stick. It caused the plankton to light up and trail the stick like magic sparks. It's soooo purty.

Sunday, everyone stayed in the tents for awhile before getting out to have breakfast at the fire circle. We put off the inevitable of putting back on our wet suits (I would just like to say "ICK!" at this point), but eventually had to as we had to get going. We got our stuff together and into the kayaks -- which was thankfully when the tide was coming back in, so we didn't have to drag them so far -- and cast off into the bay again. We diddled around in the water for a long time, stopping for lunch at one point, and eventually got back to the kayak rental place at 2 or so in the afternoon. It felt reeeeally good to get out of the wetsuit and into the car.

We stopped in Pt. Reyes Station at a bakery -- chai and a peanut butter blondie tasted heavenly at that time -- and hung out as a group one last time before parting ways. The Boy and I hung around the town a bit -- including taking a nap in a grassy area -- before heading home. First thing we did when we got back was slather ourselves in Technu to (hopefully) prevent any poison oak reactions, and took a shower. Oh my GOD that shower was freakin' awesome. I felt soooo good afterwards, even if my shoulders were killing me at the time. Dinner was at Fresh Choice, then we rented the movie Neverwas to watch back at home. VERY nice movie, and I reccomend it.

My shoulders still hurt and want a massage like woah, but I'm VERY happy with the outing. I had a lot of fun and look forward to more adventures.