Unimpressed

For their birthdays, I invited Steph and Clara to join me on a bioluminescence kayak paddle on the Indian River Lagoon. They got a free trip; I got someone to paddle my kayak. Organized by Diane, specifically at a new moon, I figured it was closer than flying to Vieques in Puerto Rico to see eerie lights. I remember how pretty the blues and greens were in the water when Steve and I lived on our boat at Fort Myers Beach.

First up was meeting the rest of our party for dinner at Pier 220 in Titusville at the Veterans Memorial Pier, built in 1949, a good year. My platter-sized Caribbean salad with seared tuna was delicious ($18.99!), but way too much for me. 

Last week, Clara attended Camp Grammie, where I showed her how to use Steph’s sewing machine. We recycled cloth from little throw pillow covers: more out of my house, no expense, modeling good environmental policy! I had explained the concept of an “ice bag”, a tote with no seams on the bottom, so any melted ice didn’t drip while carrying ice to a boat. She rejected this design for a messenger style bag. However, I was able to demonstrate its value of the concept when I stowed my leftovers, with 2 plastic glasses of ice, then my towel for insulation, in my vintage ice bag in the back of her mother’s brand new car. No fear of leaks.

On to Boat Ramp 42, and our tour guides from BK Adventure. After being issued life jackets and paddles we had some basic instructions. I got paired with Audrey from Clermont who also was there with her daughter and15-year-old granddaughter, who were celebrating their birthdays. Although I was 6” taller, I was 50# lighter, (we had to fess up to decide who went where), so she got the back seat in our clear acrylic kayak. All for the best, because I had more legroom. Also the rear paddler had more control, if one could say those bathtubs could be controlled, which I was delighted to cede to Audrey, younger and stronger.

Surprisingly, there were no mosquitoes! I had worn long sleeves and pants, sprayed myself with DEET, and prepared to be annoyed by the little buggers. Nope. But there were many, many kayakers. BK ran at least 3 groups of 8 kayaks, another tour group had their own sets, and there were individuals with their own boats. Plus oodles of paddle boarders. Steph said they were Facebook groups. But no matter. Once the sun set we couldn’t see or hear them. As it darkened, each stroke of our paddles made white streaks in the water, little dinoflagellates sparking according to our guides. There were also tiny comb jellies we could see if we brought a handful of water close to our face. That was harder for me, even with my new glasses from Costco.

As the night wore on, and it got darker, we could see the bioluminescence in our wake if we paddled hard enough. I saw a fish, and just barely saw a crab after it was pointed out to me. Mostly, I was content to sit while Audrey paddled where she wanted. I was thrilled to see the Milky Way. I would have stayed longer, but the guides were ready to finish their night’s work. Back to land and the drive home. I changed outfits (no sitting in the car in wet clothes), evidently dropping my new organic lip balm. One more piece of plastic heading to the ocean. Rats.

All in all, a lovely trip. Nice to have time to talk with Steph on the hour drive over, good to see friends Toni and Sheryl. On the other hand, the bioluminescent was just okay: white, not bright blue or green. I am going to look into that. Is it the location, time of year, luck of the draw. Still, we did it, and still quicker than flying to Puerto Rico.