A Couple of Kayak Pics

I'm on the right in a dark helmet and blue shirt under my PFD and spray skirt.

 That's me, too...

I received an email that said, "Michelle Kvanli, who is our instructor Ben's wife, is the number 3 kayaker in the country right now and our lessons [the BCO group] are going towards helping her get to the Olympics."  Sounds like a good cause to me.

The kayak school also offers a membership that includes kayak and equipment rental for $35 a month and private lessons for an additional $10 an hour. Considering kayak rentals here are $40 a day, that sounds reasonable. I may sign up and see how much I use my membership benefits. San Marcos is only a couple of hours away.  I just need a little time to work up the nerve again.

Inspection Complete

Image from Flickr.  I need one of those under sink organizers

I felt well enough this morning to empty the cabinets below the sinks.  I threw out half of the stuff I found under there.  Why do I still have plant food when I haven't had a garden in three years?  And why is it under the sink?  I started scrubbing counters, tubs, toilets, even floors and threw out three bags worth of clutter.  Then my face started hurting again and I crashed on the couch.

Maintenance was here for less than five minutes doing their inspection.  They pushed the button on the smoke detector, changed the AC filter, made a couple of notes, and left.  What was the point of that? 

When my daughter came home she looked at the bags on the porch and said, "Where did those come from?"

"The trash fairy must have come."

She looked at me with that you're so not funny glare that teens have.

"Where do you think it came from?"

"Were you bored or something?"

Have you ever had those days when you completely understand why some parents beat their children?  Or why they used to marry them off so young?       

Anti-Social

The Pollenator..., originally uploaded by PamiKnows.

Image from Flickr.

My apartment management company is doing their annual inspection tomorrow and I'm supposed to take everything out from under the kitchen and bathroom sinks so they can check for leaks. I don't want to. My allergies have made me miserable all day. I think it's allergies. My face hurts. I don't see any pine pollen...maybe I have a summer cold.

Do they really need to come in? Can't I just tell them I checked and there is no leak? I know how to change my own AC filter and smoke detector batteries. If I feel like this tomorrow I'm not going to be in the mood for company. Maybe I'll hang a quarantine sign and refuse to answer the door...

Relief

30 Rockefeller Center - Atlas, originally uploaded by jhandelman.

There is one less load on my shoulders this week. We went back to court to show the judge that my daughter has fulfilled all the requirements for deferred adjudication. She did all of the community service, gave a letter of apology to the department store, and we both took a Decisions class ordered by the court.

In this class, a woman from the juvenile division of TDC told the kids what life in the juvenile jail was like. She showed them the uniforms, including the underwear the kids had to wear. You should have seen their faces when she informed them that someone else will have probably been wearing them the day before. They were laundered daily, but still...EEEUUUUU. She also explained how they would have no privacy - not even in the shower. I think it was an effective speech. They should have her talk to all the students in the public schools.

We also had to do a group exercise in which we were told there had been a disaster and we had to decide on 6 people to save out of 10 choices. There were:

1. A nuclear scientist who caused the accident.
2. The wife of the nuclear scientist who is four months pregnant.
3. A Marxist revolutionary, 3rd year university student.
4. A famous sixty year-old psychologist author.
5. A noted TV celebrity host.
6. Statistician
7. A fifty year- old alcoholic priest
8. A professional football player, very low IQ.
9. A very bright secondary high school student
10. A former presidential assistant who is clever but shifty.

I said to axe the scientist, the Marxist revolutionary, the shifty presidential assistant, and the alcoholic priest. The scientist who caused the problem is not invited, the Marxist revolutionary is out because I would not want him to be pushing for a communist society, we don't need any clever but shifty people in any variety, and the priest is out because he's an alcoholic. There were people who disagreed but I argued until I got my way. After we presented our choices, the instructor asked everyone who did they want on the list that wasn't there and did we make an argument to save them. I was the only one who could say "No one, I argued until I got my way." I'm not sure if that's good or bad.

Who would you have saved?

Bottoms Up

Images from Flickr. These were taken at the same spot I was kayaking today.  There are some photos of me but I don't have them yet.

I made my first attempt at white water kayaking today. BCO arranged a Kayaking 101 class with Olympian Ben Kvanli at Power Olympic Outdoor Center in San Marcos. He's an amazingly patient teacher.

We had to practice what to do if our kayaks tipped before we could head down the river. You're supposed to tuck close to the kayak and knock on the boat to signal someone to come and flip you back up. The first time I kayaked on a lake and had to flip my kayak I had an asthma attack, I think probably because of the sudden change of temperature, so I was extremely nervous. I hoped one of the assistant instructors would help me because I didn't want to look stupid in front of Ben. No such luck.

I think he has asthma! He said he avoids cold places for that reason and suggested I relax and swallow when I first come up instead of immediately taking a breath. It helped! He also only turned my kayak halfway for a short moment the first time so when we did it for real it wouldn't be such a shock. It worked. I flipped my kayak, knocked on the hull, then he flipped me back up and reminded me about the swallowing trick. No asthma attack. So far so good.

Next, we had to practice a wet exit. We were wearing spray skirts which attach to a lip around the opening to the cockpit to seal water out. The first time I tried a wet exit, I couldn't get the skirt off the kayak. I had to knock on the hull to get him to flip me back up. He said, "You realize you are stuck with me this entire trip now? You and I are joined at the hip." That made me feel a little embarrassed but much safer. He showed me how to grasp the grab loop with both hands and pull up while pushing back with your legs and use your entire body to get free, then waited patiently while I practiced a few times upright and psyched myself up to try again.

We headed down the river and practiced a few paddling strokes.  I've paddled kayaks on the lake before, so I think I did pretty well.  Then we got to the rapids.  San Marcos has a waterpark with a series of three man-made waterfalls perfect for kayaking.  The first one looked to me like a scary drop almost straight down.  The two people who went just before me stalled on the rocks and flipped.  I wanted to make sure I didn't stall so I paddled hard to get up some speed when it was my turn.  I went down with no problem.  Ben was at the bottom videotaping and yelling, "That was awesome, Jennifer!  Way to charge that drop!"  Yay!  That was fun.  At this point I wasn't feeling embarrassed any more.

The second rapid required us to leave the calm water of an eddy into fast moving water flowing in the opposite direction, then line ourselves up to go down the center of the small waterfall.  I started out great.  I lined myself up to enter the white water, raised the right side of my kayak with my right knee like we practiced, then my kayak spun backwards.  When I was turning it back around, I didn't lift the correct side of the boat and over I went.  I knocked on the hull and waited for someone to flip me back up.  No one came.  I knocked again.  Still nothing.  I'm sure they'll be here any minute.  I knock and wait some more.  Where is my joined-at-the-hip instructor?  I finally decided enough was enough and performed my wet exit which I am very grateful to have spent so much time practicing.  The darn spray skirt wouldn't come off easily the first time I tried.  I grabbed it a second time and kicked with both feet while yanking with both arms and I was free. 

When I popped back up there were instructors all around me asking if I was okay, chasing my boat and paddle, pointing me towards shore, and telling me how well I handled myself.  I knew I was upside down for a while but I had no idea I had traveled the entire length of the rapids and down the waterfall upside down.  My hero was on the bank shooting video.  I did see on the tape that at least four instructors were right next to me trying to get in position to flip me up.  They said it was rare for someone to be upside down that long and not panic. 

After lunch I decided to call it a day and didn't run the second half of the course.  I'd had enough excitement for one day.  I'll try again another time.  Ben promises to be there immediately if I flip again.  I teased him for not putting down the damn camera and saving me, but it does make a great story.  If I get a copy of the video as promised, I'll try to post it here.                            

Ain't About How Fast I Get There

I know I'm too old for Hannah Montana, but I really like "The Climb".  The lyrics express exactly how I feel sometimes..."lost with no direction"...The message is don't stop, don't give up, get back up and keep trying.  I have to remember to keep doing exactly that even though it can be difficult.

Next semester is going to be better than this one was.  I'm going to take my roadtrip, I'm going to write my novel even if no one reads it, and I'm going to be a travel writer even if I never get paid.  I gave out my first blog card this week, I posted my first Texas Forest Trail travel post, and I'm writing something every day.  It may be slow progress, but I'm headed in the right direction.   

Jones State Forest

Thursday, May 6

This place is for the birds...no, seriously, it is...

This 1700-acre state forest is Red-cockaded woodpecker habitat, the only woodpecker to nest in live trees.  The birds peck the bark around the entrance to make the sap flow, which keeps predators like snakes away.  I went to the Texas Forest Service's Conroe District Office to sign in and obtain the lock combination to the nature trail as instructed on the website and was informed that due to the construction project widening FM 1488 there was no access to the parking lot.  I could, however hike about a mile along the other trails to reach it.  

      

Unauthorized vehicles are not allowed, but hikers are welcome along the dirt-road-like trails throughout the forest.  Most are multi-use for horseback riding, hiking, and biking.  Road bikes are not recommended - bring the hybrid or mountain bike.  

 

The trails are clearly marked at intersections with street signs.    Look for the yellow signs (top picture) and green paint on the nesting trees to find the RCWclusters.

    

This is the head of the nature trail (hikers only).  Cross the bridge and follow the yellow blazes on the trees.

This trail is not as wide as the others, but not difficult to follow.  There are bridges and boardwalks across ravines so I would rate this as an easy hike for a healthy, reasonably fit person.  It is not wheelchair accessible and a person requiring the assistance of a cane will find it difficult if not impossible.  

When you come to this blaze:

 

Go right across the bridge to return to the beginning of the trail or stay left to hike the full one-mile length.   

This bridge: 

 

 ...is where you'll cross the creek if you're hiking the full trail.  It's also where you should start looking for this:   

It's a geocache.  These are like Easter eggs.  I need to get a GPS so I can find more of them.  This one was created by a Boy Scout troop.  You sign the little notebook and can take an item if you leave one in return.  I signed my name, my hometown, and left my blog address.  I wonder if anyone will come visit?  

 

Along the trails I saw squirrels, quite a few birds, butterflies, lizards, and even spotted a deer running across the nature trail.  I took the following photos in the butterfly garden behind the office.  

 

    

The squirrel clung motionless to the birdfeeder for at least five minutes...hiding...

I said I wanted to be a travel writer...I'm giving myself my first assignment - the Texas Forest Trail.  I can't start visiting and blogging about the national parks until July so I'll start closer to home.  I need to figure out how to add a separate tab just for my travel posts.