My friend Kelly was in the outdoor sports section of Wal-Mart when I met up with her for the weekend. I had packed my Chevy Sonic with two air mattresses, pillows, a lantern and a tent I’d borrowed from some generous friends. Now, we were picking up last-minute supplies before hitting Cowan Lake.
And by last-minute supplies, I mean blueberry muffins, hazelnut coffee creamer, a kayak paddle and two pairs of onesie animal pajamas that were Kelly’s idea.
“I won’t do it unless you do it,” Kelly said, fully aware that would do the trick.
Besides, who doesn’t want to sit around a campfire wearing an obnoxious one-piece pajama suit?
I got the cow. She got the giraffe. We threw them in the cart and were off.
Our first stop was the marina at Cowan Lake, where we had decided to kick off our evening on the water. The sun was sparkling on the water as we shoved off the shore on our kayaks and started paddling past the marina.
It’s been a while since I’ve kayaked, and I’ve never done so on a lake, so the first thing I wanted to check was whether I could jump into the water and successfully get back on the kayak without rolling it.
I paddled over to Kelly, promptly crashed into her, and then threw her my phone, keys and shorts. She laughed as I wobbled to a standing position and then jumped in. The water felt perfect. Although I was fully prepared to flip my kayak, battle with it to exhaustion and then drag it to shore, I was glad when I pulled myself back in without incident and we were on our way again.
I loved being on a kayak because it allowed us to explore the shoreline. Huge fish jumped as we paddled close to fallen trees, under low-hanging branches and through the mossy shallows. Then we headed out into the mouth of the lake, where some fishermen waved us on: “You girls are having too much fun!”
Besides, who doesn’t want to sit around a campfire wearing an obnoxious one-piece pajama suit? I got the cow. She got the giraffe. We threw them in the cart and were off.
My shoulders were starting to tire by the time we reached a peninsula with a tiny, dirt beach just big enough for our kayaks. We pulled in, climbed a steep hill and followed a trail through the woods to a picturesque view of the lake. Then we climbed back down to our boats and shoved off again.
“OK, I’m ready to swim too,” Kelly said, just as we turned a corner to the main beach. We beached our boats and swam for about half an hour before realizing the sun was sinking lower. It was time to end our kayaking adventure and head to our campsite.