Novel and Kayak

So here's a post about two completely unrelated things.First, I'm making slow progress on the new novel. Part of the reason it's slow is because I'm stopping to do research and to think about the world building. I've found it often pays to slow down and make sure I don't make too many mistakes I'll just have to fix later. I think that the plot arc as I currently see it makes it a rather quiet story and I'd like to interweave the personal struggles of my protagonist with some larger issue.I don't want to go the cliche fantasy route and have her suddenly be chosen to save the world, but I think there has to be something larger at stake than her own life and personal goals. I'm not yet sure what this is, but it doesn't worry me too much because I suspect it will hit me over the head once I'm a few chapters in. I got about 1,000 words in today and need to finish up that scene and write one more, and then I think I'll be done with the first draft of chapter 1.In other news, I bought a kayak yesterday and tried it out today for about half an hour on Eagle Creek Reservoir. I've been itching to do this ever since renting one last summer and then finding that the rental times were pretty limited and ending up disappointed when I showed up to kayak and they were closed. It's an Emotion Bliss Kayak that I got sort of spur of the moment when I thought I was just doing research at a local dealer and saw what looked like a great kayak for an incredible sale price. I did a bit of checking online and found it was indeed a great kayak for a great price. So I went back and bought it! First I verified that I could pick it up by myself and put it on my car. I got foam blocks and tie-down straps for now, but will probably eventually get an honest-to-goodness roof rack.I didn't have too much trouble strapping it down so it was solid, but getting it on and off of the roof did cause a little scratching of the paint on my car. I think I can figure out how to avoid this next time by putting the blocks way on the edge of the roof, the kayak on the blocks, and then push it all to the middle of the car instead of trying to lift the kayak onto blocks already in the middle, then reversing the process by pushing everything to the edge before getting it down.It was lots of fun to paddle. A little longer and more narrow than the one I've rented, but this is supposed to make it track better in open water. It also makes it just a teeny bit less stable, but I don't think I'll have any issues. There was a bit of wind today and some small waves which it handled just fine. I love being out on the water and hope to get in some paddling every week to make sure I increase my skill and comfort level. Carrying it (37 pounds) to the put-in site was a little laborious, but on the way back I saw a place I could leave it and drive down and back my car up so I didn't have so far to carry it. I've been swimming semi-regularly at the gym (80 laps this week) and that has definitely increased my upper body strength. It's really cool to have my own kayak!