Ken’s last post was about his hike at Round Island State Park. Yesterday, we both went there for our first tandem kayak trip in our Sea Eagle kayak. We only had about an hour of actual on-the-water time, but it was a great shake down cruise for both of us for set up, cruise, and take down. I’m sure that after a while, we’ll get pretty proficient at doing this quickly. I only timed the time it took to deflate and pack it all up into the car: 45 minutes. Way too long! I bet it took an hour on the front end, figuring out where each seat goes, putting the paddles together, attaching the foot tubes, etc. We took photos of seat positions to help for next time.

We were so busy enjoying ourselves, we forgot to take photos while underway, especially a selfie of both of us. So, I did get a shot of Ken after we got ashore. His shirt is a bit wet. But, it was a warm afternoon in the low 80’s.

The kayak is great! We had no wind and current to deal with so we had ideal conditions for a leisurely trip through the small islands. It tracks beautifully, and we have enough separation between us that even if we’re not in sync with our paddles, we can’t hit each other’s paddle! The floor and seats stay dry as there’s a well in the rear for water to collect.

This area is known as the Indian River Lagoon, which is made up of dredged spoils from the Army Corps of Engineers during WWII. They needed to make the Indian River deeper to accommodate our warships to prevent German UBoats from entering our waterways. It has since become the most important biodiverse area in the U.S. We met an older couple about our age that were kayaking with their adult children and grandson. They’re natives to Ft. Pierce and this is their favorite kayaking place. From what we’ve seen during our relatively short paddle, we’ll be back with the hopes of spending a good part of an afternoon here as there’s a lot to explore.