Parsons Landing

I am not sure if I am going to be able post this blog.  I have service and can make phone calls and send text messages but I don't seem to have Internet access and the more I try the more my battery drains.  My solar charger only has half a charge left too so I need to conserve.  

Kayaking to Parsons Landing was a great idea.  It was beautiful along the shore.  It was a difficult ride however, not going to lie.  The man I rented the kayak from tried to explain all the landmarks I would see before arriving to Parsons Landing.  A big rock, a Boy Scout camp, a series of rocks.  Was this guy serious? It all looked the same to me, a rock is a rock.  I asked how long it takes to kayak there so I would know around what time I should be there by.  He said anywhere between 2-8 hours depending on how fast you kayak!  The second I left I knew I would be the person that took 8 hours to get there, first because I was in no hurry, and second because the wind was pretty strong and I was paddling against it.  I felt like I was paddling through cement...yup 8 hours for sure!  

When I arrived to Parsons Landing I have no clue how I knew it was Parsons Landing because none of those guys directions made any sense.  At one point I stopped and took a break and put the location in my phone to make sure I was still headed in the right direction and didn't pass it.  In just that short break the wind brought the kayak back at least 500 yards, maybe more, no more breaks.

There are some rocks along the beach and it was high tide when I arrived.  Extremely afraid that my kayak would somehow tip over and my entire backpack would be submerged in water I prematurely jumped out of the kayak way too far from shore.  I had on hiking boots, hiking pants, and a life vest.  It did not make it easy for me to pull this heavy ass kayak to shore, my feet couldn't even touch the bottom.  For a moment I totally freaked that I was going to lose the kayak and I made a huge mistake by jumping out so soon!  I just told myself to breath and relax, you got this!  I pulled that sucker up on the beach, my bag bone dry, me on-the-other-hand, soaked.

Once I caught my breath and confirmed I did arrive to Parsons Landing I saw someone I recognized from the Two Harbors campground that had left shorter before me this morning just arriving to the beach.  I ran over to talk to him.  Conor, from Scotland.  After talking we concluded he left at least an hour before me to hike to Parsons Landing and I beat him by kayak by at least 30 minutes with each of us taking about a 30 minute break along the way.  That was pretty cool to have a comparison of the two methods of transportation and which one was the better way to go because I definitely thought as I was kayaking I wonder if the hike would have been better?  Conor wishes he had kayaked when he saw me but he said it was a nice hike.  

The water is chilly for sure and the temperature as I said only about 70 but man in the summer time this place is probably dynamite.  Conor was planning to hike back to Two Harbors today but when I told him I was staying until Thursday so he decided to stay.  It worked out for me because the locker only provided one bundle of firewood which actually burned much longer than either of us expected, about three hours.  So we used his firewood last night and we will use mine tonight.  He is a nice kid.  Twenty-two years old just graduated college and wanted to come travel around the US.  He said he was hoping to find a wife so he wouldn't have to go back to Scotland.    He did ask me if I was interested...I told him I had enough on my plate right now and that was a pretty big favor to ask someone 😂.  It's funny that I have only met two people from outside the US and both of them happen to have been from Scotland, small world.  

So far today I have been relaxing and enjoying the beach.  The few other campers that were here since left and Conor and I have the beach to ourselves.  He took the kayak for a spin, I needed a break, I developed a blister from yesterday's trek.  We took a hike to a rocky beach and went snorkeling.  He found me an extra mask that someone had left.  The water was chilly but once you were in it was fine.  There were plenty of fish to see so I definitely appreciated him scoring me a mask.  He climbed a massive rock and launched into the ocean.  I was too scared.  Of course he didn't pack much food either, peanut butter and almonds.  So we will make do with what we have.  

Going to go to bed early tonight because I need to get back to Two Harbors in the kayak by noon to take a Safari bus to Avalon to take the ferry to Long Beach.  I want to make sure I give myself plenty of time so I am going to leave camp by 7am.  Hopefully I will not be traveling against the wind again...aroooo wooo!!!!!!

Song of the Day "Live Life" Zayde Wolf.  I found this song on the Spotify Discover Weekly playlist.  I liked it for today because I camped on the beach last night looking up at the stars.  I am living life, through the good and bad.  This kid Conor has an adventurous spirit and if he wasn't here with me I wouldn't have ventured out on those rocks or probably even snorkeled.  So get out there and live life because you only get one!!

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Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/cteijelo/playlist/1uNEjK1mra1y0s3gAkTEZ4