A Nice Outing, But Cut Short

Friday is my normal day off, and my wife suggested taking our kayaks out this afternoon. We are backed up with Hello Fresh meals, so I suggested I make a nice big lunch and we go after that. It was really hot and humid with a heat index approaching 100, so an afternoon paddling and swimming would be refreshing. The meal I made was a pork loin with cherry jam, a carrot and apple slaw, and scallion mashed potatoes. I cleaned up the kitchen and loaded up the boats, and a cooler with drinks. A quick stop at the firehouse to get ice for the cooler and we were off. Our destination was Bigelow Hollow State Park and Lake Mashapaug.

As we got into Union it was obvious that a heavy rain shower had come through. When we got to the launch area, everything was dripping wet, but the sun was back out and blazing away. The thunder was in the distance to the east and moving away. We unloaded the truck and got the kayaks set up to launch. I parked the truck and off we went.

We paddled out of the cove where the boat launch is and to the left along the south shore. We went in and out of a couple of other coves ending up on the little island at the end of a sandbar. We decided to hang out there because the wild blueberries that grow on the island and along the shoreline are late this year due to the overly wet weather. We picked the ripe ones we could find for breakfast tomorrow... blueberry pancakes. We went for a swim on the sandbar for a while and then noticed the darkening skies to the north. A quick check of the radar showed a line of thunderstorms heading east right towards us. A quick pack up and we started paddling with purpose back to the boat launch. Now we're hearing thunder but not everyone is heading in. Oh well.

We got to shore, loaded up, and out of there in a few short minutes but the storms were coming in fast. The rain was coming down in buckets by the time we hit the main road and the wind had picked up. Vivid lightning and instantly booming thunder said it was right on top of us. I pity those still on the water that did not make haste getting in, but you can't fix stupid.