I had picked up my dad the day before and taken him to stay at my house for a day or two. This was in preparation for taking him salmon fishing on a party boat out of Bodega Bay in the morning. Unfortunately the weather was terrible at sea that weekend with large swell. So the party boat captain called me that evening to cancel the fishing trip.
Instead I took Dad in my double Seda canoe/kayak on the Russian River. We launched at the boat ramp in Jenner and paddled down to the mouth of the river to look at the harbor seals hauled up there. We paddled close to the shore opposite from the seals where we could watch them without disturbing them. When Dad lived out this way he used to volunteer for the “Seal Watch” organization that stations people on the beach on weekends. They answer question and try to stop people from hassling the seals sleeping on the spit. Usually they put up a fence (a string of ‘caution’ tape between driftwood poles) and offer to loan binoculars to people who want a closer look.
Dad and I paddled across the river (a respectful distance upstream from the seals) and went over to talk to the Seal Watch volunteers. Dad had a nice time talking to people he had not seen in a while and catching up. Then we sat and watched board surfers riding the waves on the outside of the spit. When Dad was tired of sitting we launched the kayak and headed upriver. There was plenty of time and Dad did not recall if he had ever been all the way around Penny Island. So around the island we went and back to Jenner to return to my truck.
In the original plan for this day, Dad and I were to catch salmon and bring them to my brother Ralph’s house for a BBQ dinner that afternoon. So to hold up our end of this bargain, Dad and I drove to the docks at Bodega Harbor to try to buy salmon directly from a fisherman there. We followed the “fish for sale” signs to a dock with a big official sign “Warning! Dock Unsafe! Use at your own risk!” but ignored that one. Down on the dock we found a character straight out of Central Casting, the perfect “old salt”. He was joking with 4 or 5 other people so I figured I would have to wait in line to get my fish. But when I arrived he turned to me and asked what I wanted. Apparently the other people were just hanging around to watch the show of this guy selling seafood! When the old salt came out of his shack with a big salmon, I pulled out my camera. He brightened up and offered to take my picture with the fish I “caught”. But I said no, I wanted a picture of HIM (pointing to Dad) holding the fish HE caught! I was able to dash home with my digital camera and print dad some copies of that picture before we went to Ralph’s to BBQ the salmon.
The picture, and the fish, was a big hit at dinner. Everyone had a great time, especially Dad who said that the day turned out nicer than it would have if we had been able to go fishing.