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April 03, 2005
Weekend Plans
Yesterday was another whirlwind of activity. I managed to get a quick nap between my book meeting at Wayne's Coffee and the class BBQ. Upon waking up, I threw some gear in my backpack and set off to Polhemsgatan, where about 20 classmates were gathered in the backyard. The yard is directly next to the water, so it's a beautiful spot. The weather was great, the food was great, the conversation was great.
Unfortunately, we had planned poorly, and Kevin, Mandy, and I had to leave rather early in order to get our kayaks from the Kayak Club. Mandy and I biked around to Lango Island and met Kevin there, where we got all suited up. I had lost one of my wool mittens on the bike ride from home to the BBQ, so I just wore my waterproof mittens (basically just an outer layer--no warmth)--big mistake. The mittens aren't really waterproof (just water-resistant) and my oar didn't have any rings to prevent the water from running directly on my hands during the upstroke. As a result, my hands were frozen solid shortly into our 4-hour trip. The scenery was beautiful (Kevin hasn't shared his photos yet, and I didn't take my camera--so I don't have anything to post), but it fell below freezing as soon as the sun went down and I spent the last hour quite uncomfortable.
The guy at the Kayak Club gave us a little lecture on the temperature of the water (right at freezing) and made Mandy and me promise that if we fell in, we would only try to get in our kayaks ONCE before swimming for the shore. Apparently, at that temperature, you can only be in the water for 30-60 seconds before you're fingers stop working. Kevin was prepared, as always, with a stove, water, tea, a sleeping bag, a towel, and other "falling in the freezing water" items. I think he was a little disappointed that neither Mandy or I tipped over--although he was great when we temporarily snagged her rudder on my line and almost tipped over.
Once we pulled back up to the Kayak Club to return our kayaks, I was frozen solid. We rendezvoused (I had to double-check that spelling) back at Mandy's, where we had a nice cup of tea. I was on my way out the door with Kevin when I saw the last bus passing by. I was planning on bussing back to Kungsmarken so that I wouldn't have to bike back with no gloves, but alas, it was not to be. Thankfully, Kevin had an extra pair of gloves that I could wear, and I even managed to find the missing glove on the bike path on my way back. In short, all's well that ends well.
This morning, I slept in. Although the current forecast says 57 degrees, I have my doubts. Nonetheless, it's another sunny day that I will take advantage of by walking down to Willy:s to get some groceries. It's looking pretty bare in the cupboards.
Tonight I'll go down to Minnerva and have a little meeting with another thesis group. They are looking to revise a sustainability policy and want some input. Lucky that I have lots of opinions!
Photo Credit: I took these pictures at Skarvfa on Friday night. The first one is the farm house we pass on the way to the bonfire site. The second picture is the view from the bonfire across the water. In the top right you can just barely see the BTH campus.
