And another one rides the puff

Kayaking is good for relaxation. I've spent most of the weekend working on the first chapter of a short novel. Previously when writing a novel, I usually write it first and then try sending it to publishers. The only one I sold, I sent an outline and first three chapters first. This time, I'm pitching as fast as I write it -- so writing this project is something that has me thinking in all directions. I need to relax, so kayaking is good.
I got out in my little inflatable, and headed out in my usual direction. Out to Flower, looking around at the wind and current. A wee bit more than I'd like for going around Flower, so I just looked out at the day. Drank a little water from the spiffy steel vaccuum bottle that Paddlefest gave to me. Turned back.
At little Stein Island, I saw a canoe ducking in to the sheltered side of the islet. A moment later, a woman and little girl came walking around the rocky shore. "We're claiming the island!" the woman said gaily. We chatted about the nature sanctuary on all these little islands. The woman resolved that they wouldn't stay long, and they would walk only on the rock, not across the moss and grasses. There might be bird's nests. There was certainly enough otter poop to make this a nature sanctuary!
And at Sheep Cove, I saw another inflatable coming along the shore. This kayak had the same colours mine had. And the grey-haired woman paddling it looked up at me and said, "Well, it's you! You're the reason I bought this boat."
She had seen me paddling, and resolved to get her own little kayak like mine. Her partner has a sailboat, and she found the new model of this kayak at West Marine. "I think that every foot you add to a boat's length, you separate yourself from the water," she said.
Talk about wow.
So Chris, hope you enjoy the kayak as much as I do!