About three weeks ago, we had our company summer party out at a local lake. One of the activities they featured was canoeing and kayaking. I've been stuck inside for most of the summer, and so I was really eager to get out on the lake. I convinced a few coworkers to canoe for a few minutes, but most of them got bored and headed back for more beer. That's when I noticed the kayaks.
I got one in the water, and even armed only with a canoe paddle, I immediately fell in love. It was a wonderful feeling of freedom and grace and self-propulsion. If I hadn't been worried about looking totally antisocial in front of my bosses, I'd probably have paddled to the other side of the lake and back.
So lately I've been looking at new and used kayaks and thinking pretty seriously about getting one of my own. Today, encouraged by a couple of friends who are pretty serious kayakers, I took a lesson from one of the local sporting-goods stores. I got basic paddling 101 for 2 hours, and afterwards there was a demo period where you could take out any of the available boats, and this time I really did go all the way across the lake and back. I fell in love with this boat. It goes really fast, and fits me like a pair of pants.
On a side note, the night before the class, I went down to the store (again, on a tip from my kayaking friends) to make sure I *fit* in the kayak I was going to use during the class, and it's a darn good thing I did. I was scheduled to use a Tsunami 135, and if I'd been stuck in that boat, I'd have been miserable, and looked like a Shriner, minus the fez. The 140 was still a smidge too small -- my big butt and beefy thighs required the 145's larger cockpit.
So yeah. I really liked the boat, and I'm also really glad I learned the correct way to paddle before I went out and taught myself a bunch of bad habits. I am going to start saving my pennies, and hopefully soon I'll have a kayak. Next spring, if anybody around here wants to go for a paddle, let me know.