A Perfect Day
I had a day off from work recently, and I had to do something outdoors, for one reason: The forecast was for a beautiful, hot summer day, and the fact that it was the first week of September meant that it may be the last one until next year. While some would seek adventure in this case, I'm not one of them. Living in a crowded part of a crowded city, I seek peace and tranquility. I needed to escape the noise, the stress, my ex…I had to get away from it all, if only for a while. So, I figured that a short time paddling a kayak on a quiet northern lake would do the trick.
I Googled "Kayak Rentals" and "Northern Lakes", and got several hits. They were all quite a drive away, but I figured it would be worth it, so I chose "Village Mont Tremblant", which was one of the closer ones, and was off.
Within two hours of making my decision to go up north, I had reached the lake, rented a boat, and was in the water. It was a small lake, with houses all around it, but I figured it wouldn't be too crowded this time of year. I had no idea however, how deserted it would actually be. After a few minutes of paddling, I noticed that I there was not another soul on the water. I couldn't have planned it better…how often can someone have a whole lake all to himself? In the city there's always someone a few feet away from you. Here, I was alone, and the nearest person was hundreds of yards away, so far I couldn't even see them. Yessss.
It was a gorgeous day. The sight of the sunny sky and beautiful, tree covered mountains, the sound of my paddle cutting through the water, and the smell of pine and…what's that other smell? Oh yeah…the smell of a seldom cleaned rented life jacket. Okay, forget the smells…I'll concentrate on the sights and sounds.
I reached the middle of the lake, and decided to take a break from paddling and enjoy the scenery. The boat slowed, and eventually became motionless. There was no wind, and the water was smooth, with not a ripple to be seen…a perfect mirror for the mountains and trees. And it was quiet. How quiet was it? A dragonfly buzzed past my boat about an inch over the water, and I didn't just see it…I heard it!
Then it happened, the moment I was looking for, that I had driven an hour and a half for: I was alone, sitting in a kayak in the middle of a serene northern lake. I felt totally at peace with the world, calm, relaxed. I felt like I had truly left all my problems behind. Problems like my ex…damn it! Talk about spoiling the moment. Maybe if I row some more, I can get it back…
It was nevertheless an enjoyable trip, and as I headed home, composed and refreshed, I realized that I would spend more time driving than I actually spent on the lake. Was it worth it? I could have gone somewhere closer to rent a kayak, but considering the fact that I had a lake in a popular tourist spot all to myself, which was exactly what I wanted, and thus had a perfect day…yeah, it was worth it.