Perils of Caffeine in the Evening

A long and uninspiring week.  Probably a product of backed-up work, post-holiday depression and the fact that it’s nearly dark by 4 o’clock.

I did get out for a decent kayak adventure last weekend (here’s the gps story).   We launched from a park just south of the Tacoma Narrows bridge, the “Galloping Gertie” of the famous film clip, in which the original 1940 bridge collapsed in the same year it was opened (further enlightment about Galloping Gertie here.)

We crossed the Narrows, paddled under the bridge, and made for the heretofore quaint village of Gig Harbor for lunch and beverages at The Tides cafe (click photos to enlarge):

As with most of the waterfront around Puget Sound, Gig Harbor has been gentrified, and has become something of a bedroom community - that’s why the Narrows Bridge is now a double-span (see above). This photo probably best conveys the dissonance between what waterfront living implied in the 40s, and what it implies now:

I’m sure if I owned the property at the top of the bluff, I would think life was just fine. And, actually, the properties below are probably more prone to have a failed septic tank and be contributing to the death of the Sound than the properties at the top.

The trip back to our launch point had us paddling into a fairly stiff wind which, playing against a variable current, made for some interesting paddling conditions. I’m getting to like paddling in semi-heavy wave conditions, but maybe I’m just being stupid.

As I neared the launch point, cloud cover to the south was breaking just enough to allow some exotic lighting.

Views like these keep these old bones launching themselves into the frigid salt.

Driving back to Seattle, I found myself lane-locked with a mini-van with a DVD player showing a movie to the passengers in the back. As we drove along, I found myself following the video, even though I didn’t have sound. It was sorta like watching a movie on a plane for which I didn’t want to buy the earphones. Except, in that instance, I’m not driving the plane.  Luckily, I disengaged and took control of the trip home