Flat Tire, Kayaking, Lost Wedding Band, and Hiking Boots!

Yesterday, Collin and I had our first kayaking adventure.  Neither of us had been in a kayak before, but since we've been living here, we've wanted to try out the kayaks at Tugboat Annie's, a restaurant on Budd's Bay that also rents out kayaks.  


On our way out of the driveway, we noticed Biscuit (my car) was having a hard time turning.  Collin figured it was a flat tire, and sure enough, we got out and saw that the front driver's side tire was completely flat.  This would stress a lot of people out, but I was actually kind of excited.  I enjoy changing my own tires.  Collin & I worked together to put on the spare and we were off to Les Schwab, which is conveniently 1 block away from our apartment.  It was a quick, easy and free fix- just needed a new valve stem.  It took under 5 minutes to get in and get out, which is a first for me and Les Schwab!  Good job guys.


We got to Tugboat Annie's just a few minutes later, got our key to access the kayak shed, put on some life jackets and got buckets to put in the kayak (in case we had to bail water out of the kayaks), picked out a couple of oars and two single kayaks.  I was extremely nervous about getting into the kayak but I made it.  Within the first few feet from the dock, I wasn't quite sure about this whole kayak thing.  It was way more tippy than I was expecting!  At first I didn't know how I'd manage out in the open waters, but I was able to get used to it pretty quickly.  


We had an amazing time kayaking; we kept seeing what we think was the same family of seals following us.  They were so curious but extremely difficult to get pictures of (See the best shot I got below).  We had our own little race (I won!) and we explored the water downtown by the 4th ave. bridge.  


Getting out of the kayaks upon returning is a different story.  I knew I would need Collin's help getting out so he went first.  He was almost free of the kayak and up on the dock, until the foot that was still in the kayak kicked the kayak out, causing him to half-fall in the water.  He twisted his ankle but he's OK.  The bad thing is, he lost his wedding band in the water.  Oops!  There were people standing around and they probably wondered why were so cool and collected about losing a wedding ring.  Collin calmly said, "My wedding band is gone."  I replied, "Crap.  Seriously?  Ugh."  No tears, no gasps, just a kind of "go figure," feeling.  Other people standing on the dock kind of tried to help look for the ring, but we had to give up pretty quickly due to the murkiness and depth of the water.  There was no way we were getting that back.  I had even convinced myself the water wasn't THAT deep by the time we got back up to land, so we went back, thinking we'd swim in the water and find it... once we got back to the water, we were reassured, there's no way the ring is ever coming back.  

We got in the car and I said, "Welp, wanna go get a new ring?"  We first returned to the apartment so Collin could shower and change after his little dip in the water, then we were off to the mall to get a new ring.  Fortunately, Collin's ring was lost and not mine.  We did not spend a fraction of the cost of my ring on his, so it really wasn't a big deal to replace it.  Of course, there was some sentimental value to it, but we would have been a lot more bummed had I lost my ring.  We ended up finding his titanium band at almost all of the jewelers in the mall and we wondered why we spent more money on it in a small jewelry shop versus just getting a less expensive version of the same ring in the mall.  The whole problem with the original ring is that because it was titanium, it could not be resized.  Although we had a desire to purchase the same ring again, we thought it wiser to buy a ring that can be resized if needed.  We looked at some white gold bands but they were a few hundred bucks, which we didn't really feel like dropping.  We asked if they had any silver bands because we knew that would be more affordable and could be resized, and they had to pull out their catalog to show us the silver bands.  For some reason, NO jeweler displays silver bands, they only order them on request.  Anyway, we started looking at the silver bands and we were expecting $100-200 prices, which would be OK.  It turns out silver is dirt cheap right now, and we ended up ordering one we really like for only $40!  I still can't believe the price.  We hope this one lasts much longer! :)  But, if it doesn't, when it comes down to it... the ring is just a piece of metal and hardly represents the love we have for each other.


After we purchased a new ring, we headed over to REI.  We have some pretty tough trails in our sights this summer (The Wonderland Trail- 93 mile trip around the base of Mt. Rainier, and Mailbox Peak- a 2.5 mile trip that gains 4,000 feet in elevation, located in North Bend), and we both need to invest in some heavy duty hiking boots.  When I go on hikes, I either wear my casual Keen shoes or a pair of Nikes that my parents bought me for volleyball in 8th grade... they are still holding up! Neither of these shoes are going to cut it on a 93 mile trek, however.  After trying on handful of different hiking boots, accepting that the cutest ones aren't the most comfortable and best for my feet, I settled on this pair: Vasque Breeze GTX Hiking Boots  I didn't actually buy them from REI because I knew I'd be able to find them online cheaper... I came home and ordered them for $112 (no shipping costs or tax) versus $150 plus tax.  The money I saved by buying them online allows me to buy $40 Superfeet Insoles from REI.  I never believed in insoles until I tried them out in boots yesterday.  Amazing!

The evening ended with a turkey burger dinner and a 3 mile walk around Olympia (our old money walking path that we did every day before I went to school in Seattle).  All in all, it was a great day and there's no one I would have rather spent it with than my best friend!

 

Just getting a feel for things..

I love this one because I look so relaxed and it looks like Collin's paddling away from a shark!

It's OK Collin.. there's no shark around you.  Just seals!

One of my favorite views... I love when the sail boats come out to play!

This seagull liked playing with the seals.  The seals would pop up out of the water and the seagull would fly over toward them and try to land on them.  The seals would duck under, swim to another spot and pop out of the water, attracting the seagull yet again.  It was quite entertaining to watch.

Can you spot the Capitol?

We have grown quite fond of blue herons and are now seeing them everywhere in Oly!

4th Ave. Bridge

Maybe my favorite picture... just wish I would have captured the entire reflection of the boat in the water.

The seals were so curious about us!

Collin off in the distance

aww...

It's rather scary trying to take a side-by-side photo in tippy kayaks!

One of the last pictures in which Collin was wearing a wedding band. lol

Off I go!

The water was so pretty!

Victory pose