Kayaking Lessons Gone Wrong

Now most of my stories from Alaska, have been happy. This one is a little different...

So we had a groupon for a 2 hour kayaking lesson in Wasilla, AK. (Hometown of Sarah Palin, I'll keep my comments to myself). Every thing started off okay.

 The instructed was not the nicest gentleman, but we're not in the South, so southern genteel lacks a little here. He taught us about our life jacket, kayak cover, and proper paddle techniques. Then we took a kayaks, and jump in the water. This all started off well. As you can see from the photo. I am even smiling. 

Then the instructor tells us to paddle straight towards the river opening over to the training course. The 9 other boats make their way to the course, but I did not. I WAS STRUGGLING. At one point I looked up and noticed everyone was very far away from me. I yelled, “LINDY, I'M GOING IN CIRCLES!!!!!” Lindy preceded to look way behind her and said, “Holy Crap is that Jo.” So Lindy and another male student came to my rescue. I thanked the guy for helping me, and he said, “I'll never leave an Airman behind.” For those who don't know my father retired from the Air Force after 21 years of service. So of course, this declaration from the rescuer melted my heart and calmed me down.

Well I was finally able to get to the group eventually. After yelling at the instructor for abandoning me, things got better. He made a point to say my name every 3 minutes to ensure that I was in the vicinity. For whatever reason I could not flow in a straight line, but I was excellent at the circle paddle, back paddle, and even the difficult paddles. We spent a few hours on the water then went back to the dock. When pulling my kayak out of the water, the same guy that rescued me earlier started cracking up. My boat was crooked!!!!!!!!!! There was no way I would have been able to go straight without over-correcting to the left.

Lesson Learned: Always Make Sure Your Boat Is Straight.

As Always, With Affection