Well, a kayak to be specific. A beautiful, slightly used, Wilderness Systems Tsunami 125. Twelve and a half feet of bright red-orange freedom.  After months of looking at every boat at REI, Dick’s Sporting Goods, LL Bean, or sitting on top of everyones’ cars, I was no closer to actually making a decision. I knew I’d mainly be paddling in flat parts of rivers around here, and I wanted something that was a good touring boat so I could paddle for a few hours, maybe stop somewhere for lunch and some pictures, then paddle back. I wasn’t looking for something that would go in the ocean or in whitewater, nor do I really expect overnight trips. Just a good day tourer. I was mostly looking in the 10 foot range, because it seemed manageable and fast.

But then I went to craigslist (not just for casual encounters anymore) and found someone nearby selling a pair of really good boats. The other one is a Dagger Zydeco 11, which Cliff is going to use for some time, and then possibly get a different boat.  With paddles and some extras, the two boats came out to less than a new Tsunami 125 would run, and as near as I can tell they are in perfect shape.

Unfortunately, this month is a big one for travel for me. I don’t know how much I’m going to be able to get in the water in April, but I’m going to try to get some paddling in.  It’s just not that fun to use a kayak in a garage and United won’t let me stow my boat in the overhead compartment.  But come May, expect a ton of paddling photos.