It was a rainy day but we hit the sand anyway! Ever since we found out about paddle fest we’ve gone every year (here’s 2015’s post and 2016’s).

There were definitely less people this year, I’m assuming from the weather, but still busy enough that nothing looked barren.

We didn’t pay to try out the boats this year ($10 each whereas admission is free) because we only wanted to try out a canoe and think that will make more sense in a few months anyway, for Kaya to be able to sit with less support) to see if we like it enough to buy one (probably used).

Instead we spent the afternoon wandering through the vendor tents and attending classes. Some of the classes were repeats from previous years that we had already attended and some were brand new. My favorite was the one about loading and securing on top of the car (he talked about kayaks and canoes). The only odd part was that he used an invisible kayak, so to speak, despite there being so many on the beach.

After pouring rain for a while blue skies came in.

And more paddlers hit the waters.

When speaking with the vendors Alex talked a while to the Thule guys, since we’re in the market for a storage box for the top of the car and possibly another stroller that you can pull behind a bike. We LOVE our Thule jogging stroller that we’re using now. We found it by accident looking online but learned talking with the vendors that Thule is now more becoming a lifestyle brand instead of just doing racks. Alex got to try the Hullavator (takes 40 lbs off what you’re lifting, plus the awkwardness of loading on top of a tall car). I couldn’t try it since I was baby wearing and would have bonked her head on the kayak to reach the levers, but it looked much easier than normal (after a very short learning curve on which way to push and where to pull on the levers).

I jumped at the chance to also take their sticker. It’s perfect for Kaya’s stroller. Haha!