Almost

I really hurt today. All over my body, sore muscles and bruises. The rolling class that I took yesterday was great, and after some really good instruction and set up, I was able to complete a couple of rolls with help from Ron Smith the instructor. It was a great confidence builder. A couple of times when Ron told me to do it all myself, I kind of psyched myself out, rushed it, didn't use my head (for its mental abilities or counter balance) and blew it, but I think I can work that out. I may not have a roll yet, but I am very close. I have had a taste of success. With more practice and help this spring and summer, I hope to have one before autumn. I need to lose some more weight, especially around the middle, and I need to improve my flexibility, and abdominal strength so that my set up is easier to get into. It felt good to get back into the Gulfstream for the first time in more than four months. Almost there.

Rolling 101

I am so excited. I am going to go paddling this Sunday. Paddling in a pool anyway. I have signed up for a rolling class with Black Parrot Paddling. I haven't been in my kayak since October, and it looks like it will probably be at least another month before I can paddle outdoors again. The pool will be a very welcome alternative. I am looking forward to learning how to roll with much anticipation. I have only rolled a whitewater kayak once before, and that was in a pond with a whitewater guide watching and giving encouragment while I had a paddlefloat on the paddle. Every time that I tried it without the float, the paddle would just dive, and I wasn't even close. Of course looking back now, I didn't give myself many useful advantages, like nose plugs or goggles (why be bothered with the extra weight on my head?), and I was using a one-piece whitewater paddle with only a 45 degree feather....oh yeah, the coach was left-handed (I'm right-handed), and everything either looked backwards or felt backwards to me.....ha,ha,ha, it was a nobel effort on both mine and the instructor's behalf. I think Sunday will be much more productive.

Waimea Canyon

Honeymoon Sail

And another picture from our "sailing" trip on our honeymoon.

King Kong

Yet another picture from our honeymoon in Hawaii. We were "sailing" along the Na Pali coast. I say sailing because technically it was a sail boat, but because of time constraints and wind direction, we motored all most all of the trip. Sailing on a fixed schedule should be a crime. It was a catamaran, and the tour group touted the benefits being how stable they are. I would say stable = rough. It felt like 30 miles of bad road. Give me a deep keel anyday, I would rather roll with the swells.

Can you see King Kong's profile?

Thar She Blows!

Humpback whales in Kauai. I tried real hard to get a picture of their flukes, but I couldn't time it right. We saw at least a dozen whales on that trip, probably 50 spinner dolphins, and a couple of green sea turtles. We saw a baby whale poke its head out of the water and look around and a large adult whale fully broach with a really big splash. The dolphins were simply showing off, after they heard us cheer, they would just keep jumping and spinning. The green sea turtles that we saw were busy making more turtles - wink, wink.

Spouting Horn

Spouting Horn, Kauai, Hawaii, USA

Bali Hai

We had a wonderful dinner at a nice resturant one evening on our honeymoon, and this was the view from our table. The sun setting over the Na Pali coast, where the movie "South Pacific" was filmed.

Wailua River

Here's a view looking back down the Wailua river at the stopping point of my two mile paddle upstream. From here we walked another mile thru the jungle to "Secret Falls" for our lunch break.

Pina Coladas

Another picture from Hawaii. This is the view from the terrace of an expensive hotel down the road from the one that we stayed at. We sat here and ordered $10 pina coladas and watched the sun go down.

Hula

Here's a cool pic from our honeymoon. We had front row seats at a luau one night.

Pictured Rocks

Can you see the Indian?.....I'm ready to go paddling.

Numbers

Maybe I've lost my mind, but I just spent $10 on batteries for a 14 year old calculator. I could buy a brand new calculator for less than $10, but it wouldn't be my trusty hp28s that I struggled to learn RPN on 14 years ago.

I hope one day that I will be as attached to my CD Gulfstream, as I am to this calculator. I have rolling instruction at an indoor pool scheduled for the 26th of February with Black Parrot Paddling. If I struggle as much learning how to roll as I did learning RPN, I may indeed be permantly bonded to my Gulfstream.