With breakfast and the morning chores complete we put the kayak holders back on the car and loaded up the kayaks. While I attached all the lines to tie them down Tina made a lunch, grabbed some drinks and a towel and loaded it all in the dry bag. With cameras in hand we said goodbye to the kids and headed for the hills.
Temperatures were predicted to be in the upper 70's we thought it would be good to get a reasonably early start. Driving through Chula Vista we passed the 805 freeway and passed Otay Ranch. Once we passed the 125 freeway the road continued east through beautiful developments and lovely roadside landscaping with jogging trails everywhere.Eventually we reached our turnoff and headed for the county park. Along the way we passed the Olympic Training Facility (www.teamusa.org/about-usoc/chula-vista-olympic-training-ctr), a $65 million all year round training center for US athletes.
Shortly after passing the gates to the center we got our first glimpse of Otay Lake (www.sandiego.gov/water/recreation/lotay.shtml) which is actually a water reservoir for the city of San Diego. The road continued for another mile following the shoreline then we turned into the parking lot where the Water department has developed a recreational area with boat rentals and launch ramps.
We parked not far from the shore and unloaded the kayaks, carrying them down to the lake. After putting on our life vests and loading the dry bag in my kayak Tina handed me an early birthday present, a new pair of neoprene water shoes. I quickly swapped my sandals for them and helped Tina get in her kayak. Once she was out in the water I pushed my kayak from shore and climbed in. We were under weigh by 11:30 AM for our next adventure.Looking out over the lake we saw something floating that looked like some kind of raft. Paddling out to it we found a floating, solar powered water circulator pump with a three foot circular mouth and signs warning of large circulating blades! Cool! Looking around across the surface of the lake we saw another half dozen similar devices.
We left the pump station and headed for the eastern shore of the lake looking for what appeared to be sandy beaches. Surprise!! As we got closer, what appeared from a distance to be a sandy beach was actually large stands of dead rushes that had been bent over in a wind storm and bent into brownish tan looking mattes. As we paddled along the shore the reed stands were punctuated with large rock jumbles protruding out into the lake. At one point I nosed my kayak into the rocks and half disappeared, looking like I was between a rock and a hard spot!! Heh, heh! We continued to cruise along, slowly making our way north listening to the birds and ducks having at it in the reeds.
Eventually we rounded a point and into a small arm that lead off into the hills. Naturally I had to see where it went. So as Tina watched me disappear into the reeds I made my way into an ever narrowing patch of water, surrounded by reeds and boulders until there was only another thirty feet or so until the end. At one point I heard Tina call out my name to make sure I was still there. Not wishing to get mixed up in the reed beds I turned around and made my way back out. Since we were hungry we continued looking for a place to pull out and have lunch. No luck. So we decided to work our way back to our launching place and eat at one of the picnic tables.
As we arrived back at the park around 1:20 PM to find there were quite a few more people enjoying the water. I worked my way to shore, stepped out of my kayak and pulled it half way up onto the beach. Then I went back and held Tina's kayak while she got out. After taking the kayaks up to the car we took our lunch and walked over to a shaded picnic table.After relaxing in the shade we loaded the kayaks onto the car, changed shoes and returned home. What a nice time we had on the lake drifting along watching dragonfly's dart around and fish jumping to catch bugs for their lunch. Arriving back at the coach we took the kids for a long walk and decided to go out on the bay tomorrow.
To see all our pictures, click on:
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