There's probably some pseudopsychoscientific name for this phenomenon, but It's the thing that happens when you see something and a song comes drifting through your head. It's like word association but it's tune association.

And so it is that every time we see kayaks quietly moving through the Pacific waters just off the coastline; And they do frequently, especially in the morning hours and especially during the summer and fall months when the waters are mellow.

The song is "From the land of sky-blue waters..." It was, we think, part of an advertising jingle for some long-forgotten beer.

The connection, as it turns out, is not so farfetched after all. The modern recreational canoe closely resembles the Indian bark canoe in shape and kayaks are modeled after the skin boats of Eskimos. The big difference is in the materials of which they are made, mostly fiberglass and plastic.

Unlike the canoe, which is propelled and guided with a traditional paddle, a kayak is maneuvered with a double-bladed paddle.

Judy Keim of Pedal and Paddle guided bike and kayak tours says that the Chumash Indians, native to the Santa Barbara area, were one of very few tribes besides the Eskimos to use two-bladed paddies for their canoes, which they called tomols.

There's perhaps another subliminal connection to that snip of a promotional ditty and that is its salute to nature.

Keim, who knows more than most about local lore and history, believes that non motorized methods of transportation and observation opens

doorways for humans to interact with nature, rather than destroying it or scaring away its inhabitants.

"They let us have our space and We should let them have their space, and if we're going to go and see them, we should do it in the quietest and least destructive way.'' Keim said.

In the spirit of that philosophy, Keim customizes two-hour, half and full day guided tours that take into account your interests and your skill level. You could, for example, experience Santa Barbara for a day using both a pedal and a paddle and see art and architecture, or historic sites, or make it a day for pursuing nature only. You do not, Keim says, need more than average body strength or be in exceptional shape to do either or both. She emphasizes, too, that only open cockpit kayaks are used.

Two-hour tours are $38 per person and half-day tours are $58. Call 805-687-2912 for more information.