Kayaks

It seems that I have stumbled upon a new activity for our family. Terry has always loved kayaking, and when we were in Utah, I mourned the fact that we had never been on a boat in the time we lived in Florida. Upon our return, we began looking into an affordable boating style that would benefit our family, including encouraging an active life style. We've been researching kayaks and renting from the local "Village Outfitters" and decided to go for it. My brother, Kyle, has been coming out and kayaking also. There is talk of Kyle and Terry building some kayaks in our garage for fun.

So we are now the proud owners of a Twin Otter 14' Old Town tandem, and a Perception Carolina 14'. They're both blue, and Terry paddles the tandem with Grace and AJ in the front seat. Well, we jury-rigged a jump seat for AJ. Angel joined them today. She is a nervous little dog. I paddle the Carolina alone. And it is bliss.

We went out to Pine Island with the rentals the other day, at the suggestion of the kayak company. We trekked all the way north of 528 to find what we hoped would be beautiful scenery, manatee, and perhaps some dolphins. Instead, some kayakers had found "another dead body" just an hour before we arrived. This article mentions the first body that was found at the end of November. Results of the autopsy have not been published as of yet. The kayakers who found the second body rented from the same place we did--and this article identifies the woman.

This is an area where many alligators lurk close by. There is a lagoon that is quite popular with boaters, but the rivers that feed into it are filled with predators. It makes one wonder if a large 'gator hasn't found new prey? Or is it a serial killer on the loose? Or an environmental group gone extreme?

I will avoid this area with my children until we have a better grip on water safety. I still feel a wee bit wobbly in my kayak when I first get started. I was googling kayaking with alligators and found some articles about people who accidentally kayaked or canoed over a gator in shallow water. That sounds like something I would do. There are also some cases of alligators and sharks tipping over kayaks. I should probably learn how to get back in if capsized. I remember getting back into a canoe to be quite difficult at summer camp. I did it, but I HATED it.

With that said, if we kayak intelligently, all should be fine. Grace fell off the boat dock the other day, thanks to a little push from AJ. Terry jumped in to help her and thankfully the water was shallow enough for her to stand. I hope that my children have learned their lessons!!! No pushing! Stay out of the road while we're unloading the boats! Don't go on the dock or in the water without mom and dad's explicit permisson!! Keep Scuba Steve in the boat! Avoid pulling each other's hair! Stay seated in the boat! Look for birds! Look for alligators! Don't get out of the boat even if it's so shallow the boat is scraping on the bottom!

We've been on the water Saturday, sunday, monday (that would be today). Terry'd like to go tomorrow, too, but I need to go grocery shopping, clean the house, exercise Eve, etc. Perhaps Wednesday would be better. Besides, my arms are sore! A day of rest might not be such a bad thing for my body.

For a non sequitur, I have found that I love using an Mp3 player at the gym. If I can't make it to a SPIN class, I load up my mp3 playlist with inspirational music that I love and do my own SPIN workout. It's a great feeling.