Starting this blog is something new for me. As a profession, I’m a full-time communicator, but personally I’ve been involved in boating for about 15 years. I got started back before I was married. A few guy friends of mine convinced me to go with them one weekend. They had just taken a whitewater canoe class and they were like, “come on — you can do this.” Growing up my family always camped, and I loved that, but had no paddling experience. Regardless, I went — and they were right — I was hooked. It was a time in my life when I was consumed with work, where was I going, what was I doing. I was personally frustrated and had no outlet for my emotions. I found that after a weekend on the river I had in fact detached from work, disconnected from the blackberry, and simply had fun. I was a much better person on Monday for it.
In my first few years I paddled an open-boat or whitewater canoe. It was large, and I struggled to manage it at the put in and takeout of rivers. After a while someone suggested I try a kayak. My open boater friends called it “going to the dark side” but the reality was I could load a kayak (or stick it inside my Mazda Mx3) and get to the river without struggling. I could also carry my boat at the put in and takeouts without any assistance. (Did I mention I’m fiercely independent?) Anyway, I liked this kayaking thing.
That is how my story begins. From time to time I hope to tell a story from a trip or class in the past or present. There have also been lessons learned. I will also post when I have classes on the calendar in case you interested in learning. I do work full-time (some 50-plus hours a week) and I’m in graduate school at UAB, so that doesn’t leave a whole lot of time, but I love teaching.
helen2o 