Tale of Two Kayaks and Other Boating Adventures

     There is a great kayak shakeup going down at my house.

     My kayak needs have evolved over the past 8 years.  In the beginning, I just wanted to fish,

and I had some success...

...but now I'm all about finding fossils in the Peace River

and that requires a kayak smaller and lighter than the barge I am currently hauling all over south central Florida.  I decided to sell my other 2 rarely used kayaks and put that money towards my dream river kayak: wide enough to hold gear and feel stable with a trolling motor attached and light enough that loading it onto my truck wouldn't be such a hernia fest.

     I contacted a friend who lives on a lake and has teenagers to see if she wanted to buy my 8' surf kayak.  Sold!  That little yak went to a loving, stable home:

     I posted my other kayak on Craig's list for $200 which is what I paid for it 4 years ago.  It was filthy and didn't have an unbroken rigging on it anywhere; it had led a rough life under my watch.

It sold within hours.

And was back on Craigslist within hours:

     Yes, he doubled the price AND suggested the buyer clean it themselves!  I don't feel bad, though.  I do not enjoy the Craigslist process so selling it fast is ideal and how can I complain about getting exactly what I paid for it after 4 years of abuse?

     I am now hunting for my perfect fossiling kayak.  I know how to wait...

     I recently set off on a very different kind of boat: a casino cruise ship.  Four hours of drinking and gambling trapped on a casino ship is not my idea of fun but it was a great internet deal which I got as a Christmas present for Mike.

     We set off on a sunny day but the seas where 2-4 which is OUT of my comfort zone.  I was dreading feeling seasick when I spotted this sign:

     Not affected by alcohol and only $7? I had to have a set!  Mike patiently followed me to each of the ship's several bars until we found what was apparently the last package of Sea Bands on the ship.

Whew!

     Armed with my Wonder Woman placebo wrist bands, I was ready to PARTY!  But only for as long as the $20 of included casino credit lasted.  

     I watched a few of the games played at tables with "dealers".  It all looked like some kind of sorcery, everyone so focused and superstitious.  Here's a nice shot of the roulette dealer telling me to stop taking pictures:

     Finally, I found my groove by parking my butt in front of an old-school video poker machine at one of the bars and drifted into a haze of OCD and gin.  Sweet!  I didn't stop playing until this screen popped up:

Bummer.

     I managed to play the whole time on my original $20 of credit and even cashed out with $10 which I gave to the very patient bartender who not only had to fend off the increasingly creepy comments of the increasingly drunk males in her vicinity but also had to say things to me like, "Yes, you look good in that hat."

Not creepy; just silly.

     I am a landlubber at heart and was happy to spend the next day on the beach, recovering and surf fishing,

but I'm hanging onto my Sea Bands, just in case.