Lake Woodlands (Parrot Head Social)
June 1, 2019
by Kent Walters

We started changing this trip on the way to the put-in. I arrived at our Green parking lot to find it closed from all sides. With a phone call to Harmon, we changed our meeting place to Northshore Park, where there was a much less chaotic and kayak-friendly vibe going on.  Harmon had already prepped for this eventuality earlier in the afternoon, so the transition worked really well.

We prepped and launched, and followed the north-west shore of the lake all the way to the dragon at the end. 

We hung out at the dragon for a few minutes, examining the thing from stem to stern, so to speak.

Then we took a look at the ducks on the spillway, and backtracked down the south-east shore to the Riva Row access canal. 

We met up with 6 other kayakers and bungied together for a sociable time, sharing snacks and listening to the sounds of Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reef Band wafting on the light breeze. We actually spent more time talking than listening, but in our defense, Jimmy did not sing very many of his easily recognizable tunes.  The ones I caught were “Margaritaville”, “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere”, “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes”, “Who’s The Blonde Stranger” and “We are the People Our Parents Warned Us About”.  He skipped, or I didn’t hear, several of my personal favorites (“Ballad of Skip Wiley”, “Bob Robert’s Society Band”, “Six String Music”, “Tonight I Just Need My Guitar”, “Far Side Of The World”, "If the Phone Doesn’t Ring, It’s Me”).

We departed from our “obstructed view, semi-quasi-demi-orchestra” seating at just after 10:00 and arrived back at our take-out (same as put-in) about 10:20, with enough time to load up our boats and get out of the park before the gates closed, we assume, at 11:00 PM.

A very pleasant, low-key time was had by all.

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The author, Kent Walters