That's right. Sea kayaking. It's real. And it's spectacular.
I have no idea how people that live near the ocean get anything done. At all. If I lived by the ocean I would just find a way to make a living near or on the ocean. But until then....
When you travel for work, it's a pretty unique situation. If you don't take a little bit of time off every now and then (especially if you travel for longer than 1 week at a time) you will not be as productive at work. So we took Sunday afternoon of and went sea kayaking. We booked a half day excursion through an amazing company called East Coast Outfitters They take you out in small groups (we had 7 people in our tour). You can book day trips, half day trips or just an hour or two. We did the half day. We got a lesson, kayak, paddle, life jacket etc. Our guide Adam was totally awesome. We are a tough group to keep focused. We are smart mouthed, know-it-alls and we always have a come back for everything. But Adam never missed a beat and kept us in line.
Have you ever kayaked? If you have never ridden in this human-powered boat, you are really missing out on a ton of fun and a great workout. If you have and your arms and shoulders were exhausted afterwards. You weren't doing it right and you need to go to East Coast Outfitters and have Adam teach you how to do it properly. It should be all core. Kayaking is like the perfect combo of water, fitness and fun. Multi-levelled? Check. Competitive and/or recreational? Check. A chance to get in touch with mother nature? Meet new people? Check. Connect with friends? Check. You get my point here.
The water was absolutely calm and amazing. We were able to kayak out to Betty's island, but guess what happened on our way there? We saw whales. Pilot whales. And porpoises (which are like dolphins). We saw one breech and lots of fins. Unfortunately I wasn't able to take any photos because my camera was tucked away in a waterproof pouch :( But you believe me, right?
Once we scared away the whales and other water mammal friends with our loud rookie paddling, we continued on to Betty Island where we had some snacks and refreshments!
Don't we look refreshed?
Loves. Susan, Alicia (aka Ralph), Me and Amanda.
On our way back we decided to try something called "Piano Keys". This is when you line up all of your kayaks in the water and then one person gets out and runs across the front of the kayaks which look like piano keys. Then you can option jump in the ocean at the end of the "piano" (if you haven't already slipped through the "keys").
Alicia prepping for "Piano Keys"
Me executing "Piano Keys"
We also inventing this thing called "flash rafting". Rafting in general is when the people you are kayaking with all line up their kayaks side by side. It's used when you want to rest or chat. We all kept accidentally rafting. So we started calling it "flash rafting". It's like a flash mob, only with kayakers.Kayaking is such a great workout and even more fun. In total we kayaked approximately 12 km in total over the course of the afternoon, plus a quick dip in the ocean to cap of the day. If I could end every workout with a quick dip in the ocean, life would pretty much be perfect. After we finished out adventure, we headed out to Peggy's Cove for dinner...and of course a sunset. In all honesty, we were actually trying to go to Dee Dee's for some homemade ice cream, but when we got there is was already closed for the day, so we decided to have a proper dinner instead. I ordered the chicken stir fry with tons of veggies and a little bit of rice.
I realize that not everyone that reads this post will be able to go kayaking in the ocean any time soon. However, hopefully I have inspired you to maybe get your friends together and do something other than going out for drinks, a movie, dinner etc. where you are just sitting and consuming calories. You can rent kayaks pretty much anywhere for a minimal cost (and don't forget to try a flash raft and "piano keys"). This may terrify you, but this weekend is the last "official" weekend of summer!! Eek, summer has gone by quickly. I hope everyone has some amazing plans for this long weekend.
Happy Reading,
Me+
Picture Perfect? This photo is totally un-edited. Gorgeous, huh?
P.S. I wrote half of this blog post late last night after I finished packing and the rest just now at the airport waiting for my flight home to Toronto. So I apologize if anything seems fragmented or I have written any run on sentences. Forgive me. xoP.P.S. Do I still have a personal trainer? Yes. He is alive and well. I hope to meet up with him on Friday for a workout before I head to Muskoka (northern Ontario for my American friends) for the long weekend!!
