By Joel Vernier
I was enjoying my mid-afternoon nap, dreaming about going out to eat at a sit-down restaurant, actually ordering food from a waitstaff, a giant hamburger with cheese & bacon, hot French fries, lettuce, tomato mayonnaise, and pickle. I grabbed a handful of fries, and as I brought them up towards my mouth, watering as if I had not eaten in weeks, I felt a tugging on my shoulder, my wife said “Joel, it is sunny and 62 degrees, you said you wanted to uncover the kayaks today. “I’m on it,” I replied. Carry out will have to wait, no sit-down meals yet.

Uncovering the kayaks is a tough job. I have three kayaks on my kayak stand, complete with lock & chains, and during the winter, a huge blue tarp keeping the sun, snow, and ice off my kayaks.
The goal is to uncover my kayak stand that is about 10-foot tall, and 8 foot wide. You do not want to try this on a windy day. I secured it with leftover antenna wire, rope and zip ties. I only had to go out and adjust the wire and ropes once this winter.
Step one is to cut the zip ties, next is to pull the antenna wire out of the islets, and then the rope. One side is easy to do. The other side is steep, it has retaining rocks, boulders, and the footing can be treacherous. As I was pulling the tarp off the kayak rack, I was standing on the top of the retaining rocks, I slipped and fell about 5 feet, hitting my head on a large rock.
I took a few moments to gather my wits about me; my head was hurting, no bleeding or cuts. The thought about going to the E.R. with all that is going on right now did not sound good. After about 5 minutes, I felt I could try to stand up. I did, and it went well.
I completed my yearly task, and the kayaks glimmered in the sun. It took about another 20 minutes to pick up all of the rope & tie-down pieces, pack up the tarp putting it away in the barn. My head was still hurting, although it did not seem to be a critical situation, so I went into the house to sit down and rest. I was planning to go out for a paddle after uncovering, but with my head hurting, I decided to wait until tomorrow.

What I enjoy about kayaking is you can make it a very light and relaxing workout or hustle and paddle strong for a great workout. Kayaks are amazing, fun, light, sturdy (I did my research on which one to purchase for my lake)
My favorite day to kayak is sunny, 70’s light wind. I love the quiet of an evening paddle, less chance of getting a sunburn later in the day, less boats on the water and a clear view of the bottom.
I enjoy seeing fish swimming about, and I love talking to people onshore as I paddle by. I start out with a 30-minute paddle, then I work my way up to an hour and a half. I always take my iPhone with me so I can take pictures.
One of my favorite pictures is of a Loon that surfaced right near my kayak, beautiful. The benefits of kayaking include health, stress reduction, vitamin D from the sun. I also enjoy going to bed and feeling the bed move just like I’m still on the water. Kayak season starts in April and ends in November. It feels like it’s time to take a nap, at least my head does not hurt as much today.

“Remember, every day is a gift! Some are just a little more fun to open than others. – © Joel M. Vernier 04/14/2020 Author of: “The Guinea Pig In The Freezer.” joelmvernier@aol.com