Moonlight paddle on Crystal Bay

Sunset on Crystal Bay.

Our moonlight paddle launched into Crystal Bay at Baytown Nature Center. 

An outfitter's daughter spotted a raccoon in the grass. As we pulled our kayaks into the water, the girl tried to entice the raccoon with bait left on the bank.

The raccoon didn't want to play. The girl hopped into a canoe with her dad.

The outfitter told us to stay in the bay until everyone was in the water. However an experienced kayaker who had brought her own paddle took off. She was headed toward the island that separates the bay from the ship channel traffic.

The rest of us waited while one of the coordinators paddled out to bring her back to the group.

Then we were off. I was in a 12-footer by myself. A young man from Madrid was in a 6-footer. I think we should have switched.

Moonlight on Burnet Bay.

As the sun set around 7:30, about 15 kayaks rounded San Jacinto Point into Burnet Bay.  That's when the mosquitoes found us.

The swarms were so miserable that some wanted to land and walk back to the launch site. I didn't understand why they thought the mosquitoes would leave them alone onshore.

Half of us continued on. If you kept moving and caught a breeze, the mosquites were not so bad.

And so there we were enjoying an evening on the water. There was moonlinght. And refinery lights.  And mosquitoes.

But hey, that's Baytown.