Back among the living and the drudgery of work. Ironically, I’m currently between jobs. Not in the classic sense meaning unemployed, but rather the fact that I’m actually stuck between two jobs that collided. I’m trying to do both while only being paid for the lower one while my new hire paperwork tries to free itself from the glue of government red tape barring the way for smooth and easy transfer and employees between position. Blogging on the job seems to be the only rational solution.

The Apostle Islands trip rocked. I came back physically exhausted, sporting a patchwork sunburn and my equilibrium hasn’t adjusted to dry, non-moving land yet which means the monitor seems to be swaying on my desk as I type this. We paddled somewhere around twenty-five miles in the space of a couple days. Luckily, the weather cooperated as much as one could hope. Not as many pictures as I’d like, especially of the first afternoon of pure adventure where we paddled into the teeth of the howling wind with two foot swells crashing over the decking. I had the camera packed away and besides, every moment not used paddling forward meant being blown back towards shore.

Lake Superior’s temperature hovered around the mid-forties to mid-fifties all weekend. This is cold.

One more random comment. Forgive the pun but mosquitos suck. It’s terrible to have your sandaled feet bitten over the weekend followed by the maddening desire to scratch them as they’re constantly irritated by shoes and socks. Perhaps the mosquito bite represents a primal yearning and insatiable desire for the hardships and trials of the wild, and during the week the working man’s desire for freedom from the office must be placed beneath the yoke of shoe and sock–the desire stays hidden, yet itching still.

Or maybe not.

Apostle Islands pictures forthcoming.