Can you canoe a canoe? What about a Kayak?

I’ve only been kayaking twice but I’m addicted. My one and only canoeing experience (excluding the canoes around Tom Sawyer’s Island at Disneyland) included getting stuck in the middle of Bear Lake during a thunderstorm and trying not to panic while waiting for someone at shore to notice us and bring out a power boat to tow us in, but I would love to try it again. River rafting also intrigues me even though, as Tim says, I nearly died when we went down the Green River. (And I didn’t almost die, it was just really cold water and hitting a rock will knock anyone’s breath out of them.)
My two kayak experiences were totally different but both were wonderful. The first happened in Hawaii, 2006. I must admit that I had it pretty easy on this particular adventure. I didn’t even have a paddle! The tour guide took care of all of that and I just had to hang on to Ricky and pray he wouldn’t squirm and tip us over! This was ocean kayaking. There were waves to fight against and the tide which could change which direction you were heading if you weren’t careful. We went to a small island and saw birds and other fun sights in nature. This adventure also included some snorkeling time at the end.

I learned the easy way to kayak.


And the hard way to kayak.


And that it is important to put sun screen on the tops of your feet!


My second experience was on the Pudget Sound, 2008. This time, the water was still, even though it rose and fell with the tides and was technically still the ocean. I still saw birds, but they were eagles not little birds that blended in with the dust. It was almost scary how close we came to these huge birds of prey! Those beaks and claws could really rip a face off!


The kayaks were different and I had to do all the work myself, but it wasn’t hard and we could have stayed out all day, but Billy had been screaming when we left . . .


At each of the port cities on our upcoming cruise, there is a kayak excursion. In Cozumel, the adventure is in a transparent kayak that you take out to a reef and you get some snorkeling time in. I’m not so sure about the transparent boat thing - that seems a bit freaky to me, but those glass bottom boats were once all the rage! This is a 3.5 hour excursion that runs $79 per adult. Minimum age to kayak is 6, to snorkel 8.

In Grand Caymen, the kayak adventure reminds me the most of my Hawaiian one. You paddle around an island looking at wildlife and listening to a tour guide. You get the chance to swim before heading back. This one is about 3 hours and runs $75 per adult. Minimum age 8.

And in Jamaica, you can do some ocean kayaking along the shore to Dunns River Falls where you can then hike the falls. This is 3.5 hours and runs $88 per adult. Minimum age 8. I think this one sounds the most appealing (only because of that transparent boat issue in Mexico).
There are several other water running adventures available, but these are the ones that include Suzy’s infamous kayak. I would encourage everybody to try kayaking at least once. Perhaps our boys will be well enough behaved that someone would be willing to watch them while Kevin and I try one of these adventures (that’s only a subtle hint).