Without a Paddle

I got up early this morning and drove by McAlister’s to scope out their free tea tumbler day. There was one truck there, so I figured we had a good chance. I got cleaned up and went back to pick up the kids. We only had to wait for about an hour and a half, so really I was kind of over-prepared in bringing my Chromebook and portable charger. By the time we got back with the kids, some woman had gotten there, parked right in front of the door, and made everyone else get out of their cars. She only got more petty over time, dictating the direction of the line and just generally being a nuisance. It got to the point where I ended up just placing an online order so I’d be the first one with food to try and secure my own legitimacy. Fortunately the lady that came up behind us agreed that we were there before her, and let us in the door first for our 5th through 8th spots in the line. They only gave out about 20 cups and limited it to two per household for those 16 and over. Since Jesica came up to meet us earlier, she took the kids’ place in line and we walked out with three cups between us.

The kids just wanted to go back home, so I dropped them off and went back home to load up my kayak. Jesica and I made our way to Dover and stopped at Harps for some lunch meat since she’s on keto. I had meant to bring a Soylent, but the sandwich from McAlister’s ended up being enough to last me all day. Missy spotted us at Moore Outdoors and gave me a shout. Then we dropped off my car and headed to Longpool.

I brought Summer’s kayak, and it felt really shaky. I didn’t remember being that shaky on my 12-footer, but it’s possible I was imagining that. I should have spent some more time paddling around the swimming area first, because it didn’t take me long to spill over. I went down harder than ever before, and bounced across the jagged tops of a super long rocky area. The water was flowing too hard for me to get my footing and make it to shore, so I just tumbled right down the middle of it until I washed up along a rocky shore. My Vibrams didn’t last long there, and my feet ended up getting super bruised trying to walk ahead to gather my things. Fortunately Jesica stayed upright and was able to chase down my kayak, dry bag, and paddle. I just knew we were going to lose the paddle.

The rest of the trip was mostly uneventful, but I did go over a couple more times, and by the end of it my body was so battered and bruised that I could hardly move. I was pretty happy with my upper body workout though, with the speed I was getting across flat water.

We loaded the kayaks onto the Murano, got the truck, and headed back to town. There was a train blocking my way home, so we stopped by Superfast to see Summer for a bit. Then we went to my house to unload the kayaks and headed up to Summer’s. The kids never did get out to swim, so we just sat there with them until Summer got home.

Jesica and I were super hungry, so we went to Las Palmas for dinner. Summer and I shared an amazing parrillada for two. Then we went back and she and Jesica chatted over some wine. I couldn’t do much but sit in one place until bedtime.

Cutthroat tea connoisseurs are the worst.