In the morning Dema drove back to North Beach. Ryan was there, and took her around behind his house to where he kept his kayaks. He had stowed them in a convenient gap in the crawl space under the house, and now he slid them out into the yard, side by side. 

"These are sea kayaks," he said, "A little longer and higher prowed than whitewater kayaks."

"I've seen some like these on Lake Michigan," said Dema.

"They're not too heavy, only about forty or fifty pounds. I think we can carry them both without too much trouble. Just take an end in each hand. I'll lead the way." 

As he spoke he was securing paddles under bungee cords fastened to the decks. He stood with his back to the bows, reached down and picked them up by the carry loops in the ends. Dema picked up the other ends, and Ryan started off toward the shore. By the time they got there Dema's arms and shoulders knew they had been doing a little work, but she didn't complain.

The little beach was a mixture of sand and smooth stones. As predicted, the tide was pretty far out. The footing was a little treacherous, but they got the boats to the water without incident. Ryan helped Dema into the older, slightly shorter kayak and showed her how to attach the spray skirt. She experimented with the paddle while he climbed into the other one.

The weather was fair, and there was not too much chop in the water. Dema found the kayak glided smoothly. Each paddle stroke on one side would turn the bow a little, but the following stroke on the other side would turn it back the same amount, so on the whole the boat kept on a steady course. If she wanted to turn a bit she would just paddle harder on one side than the other. 

Ryan kept an eye on her and didn't let her get too far behind him. She had to admire the strength in his arms and shoulders that made his progress look so effortless. They reached the little group of islands he had gone to the night before, and Ryan pointed out barnacles, mussels, anemones and starfish that the receding tide had made visible. As they approached the next group of islands Dema heard a barking sound. 

"Are there dogs on that island?" she asked.

"Harbor seals. You'll see them when we get around to the beach side." 

Most of the islands seemed to have something of a beach on one side that rose up into a steep bluff or cliff on the other. Sure enough, there were seals on the beach, small spotted ones, and they were the source of the barking Dema heard.

Some of the seals were in the water, and surfaced occasionally near the kayaks. Soulful brown eyes regarded the kayakers curiously before they resubmerged. A little farther on Dema noticed some bigger, darker seals, and mentioned the difference to Ryan. 

"The bigger ones are usually called sea lions. If you look close, they have noticeable external ears. They're more intelligent than the harbor seals, they're the ones used in trained seal acts in circuses."