I started 2012 woefully out of shape brought about by some pretty bad habits consisting of beer, pizza and sitting in front of some form of digital entertainment. I was at least more social back then and got out of the house, however that still consisted of the same bad habits only at another location. The closest I got to the outdoors was playing Minecraft. When I found myself out of breath just climbing the stairs to my second floor bedroom, I had the good sense to recognize I was not in a good place physically and quite literally made an overnight change to start exercising.
By that summer I was much slimmer, but even better was that I had more energy and a desire to do something more active. I started by joining outdoor groups for camping or backpacking. One activity I did for the first time was kayaking on the lake and I really began to feel a new passion taking shape. The learning curve is not that difficult, once you learn how to get in and out of it. A few comical tumbles into the water is all it takes. The rest is learning where to dip your paddles to pull yourself in a straight line and to turn or slow down. The arm and shoulders take a little longer to appreciate what you are doing.

I was quick to order my own kayak, direct from Amazon as well. A big impulse buy. A 12 foot long impulse. I was pretty excited for it to arrive since I was dying to know if it would be shipped in a box or just have a shipping label stuck right too it. (it was wrapped in plastic). When it arrived, I had no where to put it in my tiny condo so it sat next to the couch.

I have done sunset paddles with storms in the distance, long several miles of paddling, overnight trips and early mornings with coffee just floating wherever the water wants me to float.

I have not kayaked in a couple of years now but I have been thinking about it lately. My kayak has been unceremoniously parked in my backyard, cast off to the side of the porch and I am back to a poor shape with little in the way of exercise.
Maybe I should find someone to take along, someone who would be new to it and they can enjoy it as I did. If you have thought about it you should check for kayak rentals and pack a lunch and plenty of water for a day on lake. If you need any reason to get you paddling, you can watch a short video I made from an overnight kayak trip from Hoover Dam to Willow Beach on the Black Canyon Water Trail.