Olympic Raft and Kayak

DIA NUMERO CINCO

We had a late start today. Last night, we thought we could get a motel in Forks, Washington, but they were all booked for Wednesday night. There were a couple of bed & breakfast inns, but they went for above $100 +tax, so I elected to drive through the night until Port Angeles, WA. It was dark and cold. I had the high beams on to watch out for wildlife, particularly for deers. We found a decent motel @ the Riviera Inn, so we stayed there.

We checked out from the Inn @ 11am and stayed inside our SUV for about an hour. We planned the day's activity and figured out where we were going to spend the night. I browsed the internet because I had continued  access of the Inn's Wi-Fi via my laptop. It was by coincidence that when I touched attractions on my smartphone, I caught a glimpse of the word "kayak". I gave the place a call and talked with Dave as I checked out their website. He asked me what I was looking into and I said kayaking, but he said, "where? we have oceans, rivers, guided tours and etc". He told me to check their website and give him a call back, so I did. I was bought on the ocean kayaking with a guided tour along Washington's Strait of Juan de Fuca. My brother and I decided on the 4-hour tour for $65 per person. So the ADVENTURE begins.

Our guide David

Bull Kelp thrives near coastal shorelines and grows a minimum of 5ft/day and a maximum of 9ft/day. My brother and I saw multiple forests of Bull kelps throughout Strait of Juan de Fuca. The worst part was getting caught and trying to paddle out of a Bull kelp forest. 

Buoyancy.

David showed us what this Necky touring kayak could do.

Resting...

Patrick paddled the reverse stroke.

Loaded the gear into the Beast.

Medrona tree

Done with our 4-hour kayak trip.

Overall, the adventure went well. We had an informative guide who loved the questions we asked. Unfortunately, wind conditions dictated which spots we could kayak to. When we kayaked out of the vicinity of Freshwater Bay, our guide David advised that we head back into the bay because Northwest winds brewed and brought with it swells. Kayaking in the ocean was pretty nerve wracking because, I was trying to figure out when one would use the forward stroke, reverse stroke, and side stroke. The wind hammered my kayak out there and I had to be aggressive with my strokes. My left lateral torso began to hurt. The key thing that David mentioned was to stay calm. In the event that either my brother or I fell off our kayaks, he said to remain calm, hold onto the kayak, and hold onto the paddle. The winds were a bit brutal and I almost flipped over. I would not want to take a dive in 50 degrees Fahrenheit freezing water. Too bad that we did not see any wildlife (i.e., harbor seals, sea lions, gray whales, or even orcas). I did see some Chinook salmon, Pigeon guillemot, and Seagulls!