Kayaking is kind of a hobby of me, my Pops, and my brother. When I say hobby, this is the second time we went on an adventure. The first, we kayaked up Bayou Sara in St. Fancisville. This time, we decided to go down to Breaux Bridge, Louisiana and kayak Bayou Teche, seeing as Louisiana does not have creeks. We get there and Cory, the guy who gets us set up for the trip, meets us. The dude is super cool and gives us a bunch of back story on the bayou and is a top notch tour guide. The legend of Bayou Teche dates back may years to the Chitimacha Indians meaning “snake.” As the story goes, the giant snake would attack towns killing their people. One day, the Chitimacha became tired of the snake’s destructive nature and decided to wage war on it. They eventually kill it after days and days of battle and the snake decays and leaves a depression in the earth where it’s stayed, forming the bayou. Other cool tidbits about the bayou included it being a total of 125 miles long (we only kayaked four miles), it was once part of the Mississippi River about 2,800 to 4,500 years ago, and the Union and Confederate armies used it as transportation during the Civil War. It’s a pretty historical site!

Dad and Ryan are slow (Bayou Teche, August 2017)

Cory gives us a quick run through of how the open tops work after we get to the launch point, then we are on our way! The sun was beating down and it was hot! Luckily, I remembered the sunscreen and I doused myself in it. The first time we went paddling in Bayou Sara, we all three had our own kayaks, Dad and I had closed top kayaks and Ryan had an open top. This time, we had open tops and Dad and Ryan had a tandem open top. I think I liked these a little better. We are going with the current so, making our way down was a breeze. We take our time enjoying the scenery and taking a few pictures. The bayou goes through some residential areas as well as some good ole fashioned nature. As we’re going we see overcast ahead and we get relieved. It would be a nice break from the sun if those clouds would just cover it up just a wee bit. It finally does and a breeze comes through. It’s supposed to rain at around 3 but it was 11am and we had plenty of time before we got caught in that, right? WRONG! Next thing we knew, it started drizzling. Then raining. Lightning and thunder show up and then it starts pouring down. So, we were kind of wet from the oar earlier, now were soaked. Dad and Ryan get a little nervous with the lightning and I yell to them ahead, “HA! Thor smashes his hammer for us! He is pleased!” sarcastically because, Vikings, that’s why. It stops raining and we’re almost home free. We get back to the dock and Cory is there waiting for us and we unload. It was quite a nice trip and I’ll have to go back for the 8 mile ride later, seeing as we only did the second half today.

Dad asks Cory where can we get a good cheeseburger. He suggest Angelle’s. It’s not far and we can walk there, but I am worn out and tell them, “You guys can walk. I’m driving there.” It is just around the corner and we go grab our seats. Place our orders and get our food. Something about a hole-in-the-wall restaurant’s cheeseburgers are the best. We finish up, and make our way back to Baton Rouge still soaked!

Overall, it was a great trip and I’ll have to make it back out there again soon! Winter is coming (heh, Game of Thrones) and I don’t think kayaking in the winter is fun.

8/15/2017

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