Travel Adventures: The Bay of Green Bay and Door County Kayaking

So fun!
If you have not noticed from like all my ton of pictures posted recently we started serious kayaking and we are loving every minute of it. This is most likely the most intense hobby I have picked up but it has also been rather rewarding. I can feel my body working hard which I love. I even worked through a back injury flare up due to a canoe paddle we took last week.

This journey has been years in the making I have gone white water kayaking two times and in sea kayaks once last year and once this year. I love how fast you get a cruising in a kayak and the ability to maneuver more agile in the water in  kayak compared to our canoe.

I will say that I have been truly blessed with three special people in my life that are guiding me through learning kayaking in a safe and constructive way. A warm thank you for my neighbor Mike who has not only borrowed us gear but guided us along safely into this sport. Jacob you are a dear man willing to take me out on the bay and be patient with me while I struggled through practicing my self rescues. Pulling up your body weight out of water is no joke people. The paddle community in general has outreached their arms to us and has been really supportive. Lastly thank you to my husband who is the most adventurous person I have ever met. Having to learn this sport through a serious back injury he is always finding ways to help me fight through.

CoCo!

Some important things I have learned that I will quick share I am sure I could talk your ears off about paddling right now and it could only get worse the more I get into this sport.

 A sea kayak is NOT the same as the cheaper kayak's you use on lakes/rivers. My boat who has been christened "CoCo" is 15 feet long and she was a deal but still expensive. She is heavy and hard to transport (we are still working on that). What is really special with a sea kayak is not just the ability to be on small lakes and rivers you can go on the great lakes and ocean. The kayak is made with a ton of storage for longer trips and you sit down in the kayak not on top. I have a full skirt that I wear to keep water out of my boat. That is the funny blue thing in my pictures. It is also really important to wear a special kayak life jacket that is made for paddling.

I was taught by Jacob self rescue as mentioned above and group rescue which are REALLY important if you are in a big open body of water. My entire body is a giant bruise from this but so worth it I feel a ton more comfortable falling out of my boat, emptying the water out, flipping it and getting back in on my own as well as in a group setting. I did it! I still need a lot more practice though.

I know this is a wall of text I am just learning so much its awesome. To lighten your mind here are some pictures from our adventures this past weekend. Cannot wait for my new life jacket to come this week.

Ryan after our first lesson from Jacob and paddle.

We had a great day of learning on the bay of Green Bay!

On our way to Door County.

Get that year pass!

Before we went out for a nice long paddle.

WOW!

Jacob and Ryan in their wood kayaks. :)

I managed a quick selfie.

This is like 1 out of 20 bruises from practicing self/group rescues. Not easy.

Photo taken by Mike of Jacob, Ryan and I.

In action.

Our fearless teacher Jacob!

I cannot wait for what the future holds in this new sport. Again thanks to everyone that has been supporting me through my back injury flare up and allow me to still be active.

Until next time~
XoXo Emily