UPDATE !! The results are in....
Emily got 2nd place in the Women's Solo Unlimited Division with a time of 2:33:36 !
Jonathan finished in 2:29:17 and placed 20th in the Men's Solo Unlimited Division!
Remember that crazy kayak with the cameras pictured below? Here is a link to his YouTube video of the race. You can see us briefly around minute 5 and 6:10 in the video. Enjoy!
We pulled up along the street with about 200 other canoe and kayak racers to unload our boats last Saturday for the Buffalo Bayou Regatta running, or I guess I should I say paddling, 15 miles through the heart of down town Houston. 
After picking up our registration packets we donned our racing numbers and moved to the starting area by the bridge.
We had a great time talking to people and taking in the sights.
Many serious racers came with their long skinny carbon fiber kayaks. The one pictured above had a GPS unit and two digital cameras attached to it. I ended up paddling behind this guy for most of the race. At one point I asked him about the cameras. He shared that they automatically take a picture every five seconds. Yikes, that means he must have about 40 pictures of me gritting my teeth trying to keep up!
We also saw some of the most interesting water shoes I have ever seen.
We bonded with more of our fellow racers standing in the line for the port-a-potty.
Jonathan happened to stand next to a guy named Rob who had just moved to Houston from Shelton, CT....what are the odds? They are pictured here getting ready to head to the starting line. Rob was one of the only other people there in a big yellow sea kayak. 
There was an official "Texas Ranger" look alike firing a cannon to start each heat.
This is a shot of the starting line from the bridge. Many people were new to kayaking and canoeing and fell in at the start. It was a little crazy for the first few miles, but then it settled down.
This was the scenery for most of the trip. Jonathan spotted a beaver swimming around while he was paddling. We were warned that there might be alligators, but we didn't see any.
We reached the finish line in just under 2 and half hours. There was live music, lunch, and some free give aways waiting for us at the end. It was a fun day and nice to be out in the sunshine. Eventually our race results will be posted on this website with more info about the race:
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