Saturday, August 6, 2011

Beauty IS only on the surface.........

The old saying "beauty is skin deep" isn't really accurate. Because what someone is on the INSIDE is really what counts, right? A beautiful soul, etc.? Well, that doesn't apply to everything.

Like, for example, Lake Washington. Today we kayaked around the lake and it was so beautiful. The sky was blue, the clouds were white and fluffy, there were baby ducks and magnificent birds. The lake was dotted with picturesque lily pads with perfect white lilies. But........

Underneath all of that, was the most disgusting, horrifying, slimy, scary and icky stuff ever. The water was positively thick with weeds, all green and slimy and swaying in a spooky way just under the surface. It was like floating on top of a haunted forest. The "land"scape was dotted with various broken logs, covered in slime and looking like gravestones. Every other paddle dredged up seaweed that hung off the paddle like hair. I tried to shake it off but it just wrapped itself around my paddle. Ick, ick, ick!

I soon figured out that as long as I did not look down, everything was fine. It was serene and beautiful, so peaceful just floating along. Every so often a fish would jump. That got Jeff all excited and he decided to bait our hooks. I dropped my worm in the muck and waited for a bite. But all I caught was more seaweed. Jeff caught two perch. Sigh.

A couple of times I actually got stuck in the muck, and it slowed my kayak down. I momentarily entertained thoughts of my kayak flipping over and me flailing around in the scary weeds. I mean, really, what would I do? Jeff actually practiced flipping his kayak on purpose, so he could ensure he could actually get back in the boat in case of emergency. Me? I figured if I went over in the boat, I was a goner! The minute my leg wrapped around that slime, I'd have a panic attack that would put me in cardiac arrest.

I guess I should really be more prepared just in case. I mean, it's just weeds, right? Shudder. Maybe next time I'll wear my wetsuit just in case.

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