Tuesday, October 30, 2007

down the river

Yesterday may have been a Monday, but I was certainly not at work. Instead of gracing the library with my presence, I took a vacation day and went kayaking with one of my co-workers.

Prior to yesterday, I had kayaked a grand total of 1 time, so when Karen asked if I wanted to go kayaking, I was a bit hesitant at first. The other time I kayaked was in a 2-man kayak, and the other person was an expert. I was really just along for the ride to get a story about Missouri River Expeditions for the Volante. That trip was amazing, but I wouldn't say that I gained very much "experience" kayaking.

However, in the spirit of adventure, I decided to give it a try. This time each of us had our own kayak and 7 miles of river to cover without an expert or guide there to make sure we didn't capsize or injure ourselves or the boats. I was a little nervous about the prospect of navigating down the river on my own, so when the weather turned out to be bit chilly, I almost used that as an excuse to back out.

In the end I didn't back out, and I'm so glad I didn't. I can imagine a better way to have spent my Monday. Kayaking down the river was infinitely better than sitting at my desk working all day.

The guy who coordinates the river trips is married to a professor where I work, and he gave his contact information to me and Karen just in case we want to take advantage of any unseasonably warm days during the off season. I think we may take him up on that. I'd definitely like to see some more kayaking in my future :)

9 comments:

Janis VV said...

How adventurous! Sounds like a lot of fun.

Anonymous said...

oh, i'm so very jealous...stacy

V said...

for some reason, I have a hard time picturing you kayaking. :) your entry *almost* makes me want to try it. *almost* but not quite...

Anonymous said...

Fun fun,

I went on a canoeing trip this summer, which I imagine kind of compares.

I was in a canoe with heidi and another girlfriend. We were "team tan" and only managed to conoe ourselves into the rocks twice.

Anonymous said...

ps -- i'm trying to blog again, to anyone who is interested

Anonymous said...

I too am jealous! I love kayaking.

Bart Saunders said...

Seems like it would be too chilly... do you wear a wet suit? You seem to get around- life never seems to mundane for you: )

melissa said...

no, no wet suit. it was in the 50s here on monday, so it wasn't too cold outside.

Rob said...

Oh oh oh oh oh !!! If you do take advantage of him let me know! I love kyaking!!!!