Kayaking

[ReFur]

This was on the fur den forum and I wanted to split off the topic about one of my favorite things to do: Kayaking

 

 

I want to get my roller blades and kayak out!

 

You go RollerBlading in a kayak?!

THIS I have to see!

 

 

 

Sometimes, Worker, when I am in my kayak in fast water, I couldn't feel any more vulnerable if I had Rollerblades on my feet!

 

Don't know if you saw my post last Summer when I went down a difficult fast river the local livery guy had said, "Not a problem!"

 

I thought I was going to die!

 

I do love it, though. The power of the current is just something that you have to respect. If you are caught in overhanging limbs, or currents on a turn, you can quickly be in trouble.

 

The thing I love about kayaking is, at least where I live, you are just immersed in Nature. It never fails to calm me and keep my life in perspective. I am not a religious person, but I am very spiritual. It for some reason makes me feel closer to that power in my life.

 

What I worried about on that trip last Summer was that I was going to meet that Power!!

 

Linda

 

Linda

[Worker 11811]

Hard boating in fast water? I never would have imagined you doing that!

 

I WISH I could spend more time outdoors, doing things like that. I have a hard time getting Melanie to go outside for a walk.

 

It's too cold... It's too hot... It's too wet... There are bugs!

 

God forbid we ever go for just a simple walk in the woods! There are COYOTES out there! Which, by the way, you would be LUCKY to get within 50 feet of! She carries a gun and she's STILL afraid of coyotes!

 

We were out, driving around, one night and a coyote crossed the road in front of us. I thought she was going to $#!7 her pants!

"Ummm... Honey... We are in the CAR with the windows rolled up!"

Besides, if it came down to it, I could run the damn thing over!

 

She'd rather watch TV. I couldn't be happier if we didn't have one at all.

 

My weight is getting out of control. I'm tipping the scales at 280 lbs.

I need to get more activity but she gets pissy with me if I spend too much time away.

 

[Guest]

Tiffanyfox does kayaking I think. I think in furs too.

[ReFur]

Worker, ...Bob and I just discussed this today when we went out for a walk. In all fairness to him, this time it was even his idea.

 

When we were dating, I asked him, "Do you like to camp? That is something I really love."

 

"Sure," He replied.

 

Not!!

 

I have my own camping gear. He has none. Should have asked him if he owned any. That would have been a better question.

 

This Summer I am going to go camping, even if it is by myself!

 

People who hear I like to camp tease me and say things like, "Sure, right outside a five star hotel!"

 

But, I really do love it!

 

I think the important thing is that one person gets us off our collective ass as a couple!

 

Hope you can get out. If you are carrying that much weight it can't be good for either.

 

..Now as for the "hard, fast water," Worker. You have to remember, that is a relative statement. I have a feeling you envisioning something other than what I am referring to. Yes, it is a fast river. Yes, I guess you could call it a lower class white water. But, it really is only scary if you are as inexperienced as I am. I do OK, but don't want you to think I am some National Geographic white water person out there!

 

Actually, I think White Fox is going to come over this Summer and kayak with us. Hope so! You can, too, you know!

 

Linda

[ReFur]

Tiffanyfox does kayaking I think. I think in furs too.

 

I would never do that to my furs, TOS.

 

tiffanyfox must be much better at it than I am. 8)

 

Linda

[FrBrGr]

The thing I love about kayaking is, at least where I live, you are just immersed in Nature. It never fails to calm me and keep my life in perspective. I am not a religious person, but I am very spiritual. It for some reason makes me feel closer to that power in my life.

 

I've never kayaked, so I cannot relate to what you've said in that context, but I used to skydive, and that used to do about the same thing for me.

 

What I worried about on that trip last Summer was that I was going to meet that Power!!

 

Again, I can indirectly relate. I once had a 'chute malfunction. Thank God for reserve 'chutes!

 

People who hear I like to camp tease me and say things like, "Sure, right outside a five star hotel!"

 

Uh-huh. My idea of "roughing it" is when my hotel cuts off room service at 11PM . . .

[ReFur]

I would never skydive.

 

I would die of a heart attack before I ever landed,..or hit the ground!!

 

Linda

[Worker 11811]

I've been rubber rafting in whitewater. (Yougheganey river.)

During the drive to Asheville, NC from here we pass over the New River Gorge via the Gauleg Bridge. (The famous bungee jumping bridge.)

 

All along the sides of the road are signs advertising whitewater rafting outfits. It'd be a snowy day in August before I got her within 100 yards of one of those places.

 

I don't have any camping gear but my stepfather does. I can borrow it any time I want, as long as it's not already spoken for. He also owns 50 acres of woods, not too far from here. I tried to ge Melanie to go out camping but, in 15 years of trying haven't been able to get her even MILDLY interested.

 

I need to lose 20 pounds really soon. My feet hurt and my knees are starting to get stiff. (Bad signs!) I could also stand to lose at least another 30 pounds after that... maybe more.

 

At least I got a LITTLE exercise to day at the range. You go for a 50 yard walk to set up your targets then walk back. You shoot for a while then go for another 100 yard walk. Repeat every 15 minutes for a couple of hours.

 

At work, it's feast of famine. Either I'm unloading a truck full of stage gear or I'm sitting on my duff so it cancels out. The cold winter didn't help much for my activity.

 

If I can't get at least 10 pounds off by summer, I think I'm going to have to go see a doctor. Maybe that'll give Melanie a hint.

[ReFur]

I know this is going to sound really strange but I lost 10 pounds in the last months without trying. My blood work has improved and my cholesterol is lower and ratios much better.

 

I changed two things. I drink Bragg's Unfiltered Natural Apple Cider vinegar in hot water with a touch of honey. (Real vinegar will not work. You need the culture in they call the "Mother." The only problem is it smells like dirty socks if you walk by the cup!!

 

I have to admit, I LOVE the taste. 8)

 

The second thing I have done is I have a rice pudding mixture I eat for breakfast. I use full fat organic coconut milk, brown rice, Stevia powder, grated coconut, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. I really like it.

 

I do not eat processed foods, I have removed dairy, eggs and glutens from my diet. A year before. It has changed my life.

[FrBrGr]

I drink Bragg's Unfiltered Natural Apple Cider vinegar in hot water with a touch of honey. (Real vinegar will not work. You need the culture in they call the "Mother." The only problem is it smells like dirty socks if you walk by the cup!! . . . The second thing I have done is I have a rice pudding mixture I eat for breakfast. I use full fat organic coconut milk, brown rice, Stevia powder, grated coconut, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. I really like it.

 

[ReFur]

Now, ..now!! If you haven't tried it little boy, ...you don't know what you are missing!!

 

One thing you do know, FrBrGr, is that the food was killing me. That you do know. A year and a half ago, I believed I had only months left to live.

 

Now I can only celebrate my health. So, ...if that means I have to drink vinegar "tea", ...you better damn well believe I will! ..without a whimper!! 8)

 

The dirty sox smell I do have to admit I hate!!

 

Linda

[Worker 11811]

So, why is it that people who are into natural foods seem to think they must commit to acts of "oral masochism" to stay healthy?

 

Sure! We should all eat more veggies and less processed foods!

I would do well to improve my diet and get more exercise. But I am NOT going to replace dairy foods with soy milk just because lactose gives me the squirts. Soy milk is NASTY!

 

People always tell me, "Oh, you'll get used to it..."

I'm sorry. You shouldn't have to get used to eating food.

 

I just don't eat so much milk and cheese. It's easier and, in the long run, I'll probably be better off.

[FrBrGr]

Now, ..now!! If you haven't tried it little boy, ...you don't know what you are missing!!

 

One thing you do know, FrBrGr, is that the food was killing me. That you do know. A year and a half ago, I believed I had only months left to live.

 

Now I can only celebrate my health. So, ...if that means I have to drink vinegar "tea", ...you better damn well believe I will! ..without a whimper!! 8)

 

The dirty sox smell I do have to admit I hate!!

 

Linda

 

I must admit, I have to relate. Yes, I know what you went through last year, dear lady - I went through it with you (in spirit, at least). I was just making light of your "concoctions." There are things that I used to love to eat that I can't anymore since my two surgeries.

 

Oh, the things we'll do in order to survive . . . (!) 8)

[ReFur]

Worker,

 

The last time I cheated on foods I ended up flat on my back for three days. I seldom am even tempted to eat things I shouldn't anymore.

 

I personally believe Soy is bad for you and Winter vegetables and fruits have little vitamins left and no flavor. I do eat lots of frozen vegetables during Winter and then during Summer I am in heaven!!

 

I actually eat a diet that is a combination of Mediterranean and Chinese cuisines. Lots of rice and bean based dishes instead of pasta and bread. Dairy was the hardest thing for me to give up. I loved cheese and yogurt. New York Cheesecake was one of my favorites! Sometimes I will taste one of these foods and I kind of roll it around in mouth like a wine taster does and spit it out. Obviously, I don't let anyone see me do it. Isn't this terrible!!

 

Yes, giving up some of these foods was inconvenient. But, being able to get out of bed and I know can live my life again is a trade I am only to glad to make.

 

When you truly believe you are going to die if you don't stop something, it usually is not that hard to do.

 

Linda

[Worker 11811]

I can certainly empathize with your feelings, ReFur. It's been 15 years since I had my accident. The fear might not completely go away but, after a while, the memories of bad events dim and you can see the whole picture more clearly.

 

I haven't been able to have milk for about 8-10 years, now. After a while, you don't miss it so much. But, every so often, you just "need" to have some Ben & Jerry's. If I completely cut out milk or milk products out of my diet for about a week I can have small amounts of it on occasion. So, if I try to stay away from milk as much as possible, I can have a little Ben & Jerry's fix every once in a while.

 

If you obey your diet for the rest of the week, you can have that piece of cake if you want. You just have to learn to moderate yourself. Me and Melaine have a system.

 

She has hypoglycemia. She can't eat any sugar or else she gets very sick. I can't have milk or else I get sick. If we go to a restaurant and she decides she needs to have dessert, we'll order one serving and two forks. She'll have one or two bites and I'll finish the rest. If I see New England Clam Chowder on the menu, I'll order a cup of it and have the waiter bring two spoons.

 

So, the truth is, if you obey your diet like you should, you CAN have that cookie for dessert every once in a while. Just don't eat the whole darned plate full!

 

Most times, it's not going to hurt you to have a bite of something you like. In fact, if you deny yourself the good things too much, it will be harder to stick to your diet the rest of the week. You will crave the things you think you can't have and it will be nearly impossible to stay on your diet.

Okay, if you're physically allergic to shellfish I wouldn't advise you to have a spoonful of clam chowder but situations like this are the exeption, not the rule.

[ReFur]

Bob and I use to do that quite often! Sharing can be fun.

 

I thought I could cheat once-in-awhile, too! But over Christmas holidays I had three small brie cheese cubes at a party. Within an hour ocular migraines started and I spent three days in bed.

 

To be honest, I do have a Fig Newton once in a while. Besides that, I really am not tempted.

 

Don't think my diet isn't good. It is. I just miss a few things.

 

There is good news: I weight 115 pounds and am very fit! I don't hurt everywhere like I use to, I don't diet, I have energy again, I sleep soundly and I can do almost any kind of activity I want.

 

Linda

[White Fox]

Linda...

Just got back home from a weekend away.

I read your post and was ready to get the canoe out!

 

Then I read about that mixture of cider and rice pudding.

 

Now???

 

All kidding aside. One way or another I'll be there.

 

J

[Worker 11811]

Yeah! Soft cheeses can be the worst!

 

If I eat one bagel with cream cheese, you won't see me for the next hour! I will feel like I got hit in the stomach with a baseball bat and I'll be camped out in the bathroom.

 

You're right. 90% of the time you lose your taste for milk. You just don't want it. It just doesn't seem good anymore.

 

When I was in college, I was an overnight security guard at a hotel. 3rd shift employees were allowed to have their dinner break in the restaurant for free. We worked 11:00 PM until 7:00 AM. The restaurant closed at 9:00 PM and room service closed at 10:00 PM. By the time we got to work, there was usually a lot of left over food. If we didn't eat it, most of it would be thrown out.

 

My usual dinner on overnight shifts was a big bowl of clam chowder and a half a baguette. This restaurant served the BEST chowder you ever ate. They used real cream and butter! Ohmygod! To DIE for!

 

As I hit about 35, I started to be come less and less tolerant of milk. At first, I could have a glass of milk. Later, I could have small amounts. Finally, I could eat NO milk at all. Now that I know what makes me sick I can avoid it. But, like I said, it is cumulative. If I behave for a long time I can have a little milk when I really "need" to.

 

So, given that my standard for chowder are fairly high, I'm not tempted very often.

 

If brie triggers your migraine, watch out for all mold-ripened foods or anything containing high levels of tryptophan. Brie is a killer for you because it is BOTH mold-ripened and contains lots of tryptophan. You're getting a double dose: The tryptophan in the cheese itself and a dose of the bacteria that produced it.

 

No WONDER you thought you were going to die! I would have, too!

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tryptophan

[ReFur]

Thanks for the link, Worker. I never connected that tryptophan with what happened. Bet you are right!

 

Have you ever read if people who develop sensitivities to dairy react differently to raw milk products? ...still hoping to have my New York cheesecake again!! 8)

 

That clam chowder sounds wonderful, too!

 

John, I am going to have you try my rice pudding when you are here. Just one small bite?!

 

L

[Worker 11811]

I don't know for certain if tryptophan is your trigger but I think it would be a good guess.

 

I would never suggest you eat something to see if you get sick from it but, on the other hand, you could keep the information on file in the back of your mind until the next time you get inexplicably ill. A little detective work might go a long way toward helping you kick this thing.

 

Another thing is to see if you have a tolerance level.

Again, I don't suggest you eat cheese to find out how much of it makes you sick but, if you get sick, you could try to determine how much of it you ate BEFORE you got sick... or at least at a level of illness you can tolerate.

 

Maybe you'll find out that you can have one or two bites of cheesecake before you get sick. Maybe you'll find out that, you can go home and lay down for a while and the illness will pass.

 

There are a few things that Melanie cooks that I just LOVE to eat. She is afraid to cook them because they have milk in them. I just tell her that I'll eat as much as I think I can tolerate then stay close to "home base" for the rest of the evening. I know my limits.

 

It took me quite a while before I fully realized milk was making me sick. Some kinds of milk make me sicker than others. Hard cheeses don't make me as sick because most of the lactose is used up by the culture bacteria. On the other hand, one spoon full of cream cheese and I'm done for the evening!

 

I have heard that homogenized milk is harder on the system because the fat particles are broken up into smaller pieces. Usually the indigestible parts of the milk pass through the system, untouched. But, because of the homogenization, the smaller particles are more easily digested and are able to enter the system faster/easier.

 

Generally, I stay away from milk. Sometimes, if there is a food I know I like, I take the "calculated risk".

 

Can you, at least, keep some anti-migraine medication on hand for emergencies?

[Worker 11811]

Hey! We were supposed to be talking about boats and stuff! Weren't we?

 

The last time I got Melanie into a canoe was over 10 years ago. We rented a canoe at the livery and paddled into the lagoons for a picknic lunch. On the way back a pair of blue herons flew over.

 

She was paddling along, nice as you please, looking up at the herons while I was back in the engine room trying steer clear of another couple in a canoe, crossing in front of us from the right.

 

I'm sitting back there, digging in as hard as I can, trying to counteract HER wayward paddling, trying to say, "Ummm... Honey... Ummm... MELANIE!"

 

By now, I'm frantically backpaddling, trying to pass behind the other boat. Finally, I had to spalsh water at her and holler, "WATCH OUT!" We probably missed by about 10 feet but it was enough to give me a scare.

If we had collided, it would have been ME who was responsible to pay for the damage to BOTH rented canoes!

 

That was the first and last time we ever went canoing.

 

There was also a first and last time that I took her skiiing. The punchline to THAT story goes, "But, you're supposed to ski AROUND the fencepost, not INTO it!"

 

 

When we were on our honeymoon, the estate where we stayed had a stable and they offered horseback riding for their guests. We were driving by in the car and I said, "I don't suppose I'll ever get you up on horseback? Would I?"

 

All I got from her was a funny look.

 

[ReFur]

Worker,

 

I have had some very bad experiences canoeing, for similar reasons as you expressed. There is a lot of responsibility on the person navigating. Plus, it is like anything that two people need to do together, there is an art to it.

 

To me, if the purpose is to go out to "relax" and "connect with nature," it is pretty hard to do when there is this much tension.

 

That is why I like kayaking. I am lower to the water where my center of gravity makes it less likely I will tip over. I do not have to rely on co-ordinating what I do with someone else, so there is less stress. They are easier to maneuver and lighter in weight. If I screw up, usually it only affects me, so it is easier to see the humor in it, too. 8)

 

It is easy to learn in an area that is "safe." I learned in a small pond which is part of a river. It makes it easy to learn to get in-and-out and the paddle techniques without fear of danger. If you tip over you stand up!

 

There are many kinds of kayaks. The kind you would use in fast white water is going to be less stable than the longer one you would use as we do. Most of the TV footage I have seen shows the white water type of kayaking.

 

The kind of kayak I use will tip over, like a canoe, but I cannot imagine it rolling like you see on TV, the bottom is too flat for that. My kayak is made by Old Town and is about 13 feet long. It is fluorescent yellow!! 8)

 

I always wear a high quality safety vest and short "bootie" shoes. These protect my ankles and feet from sharp rock edges if I do go over. The ones I use are my old scuba diving boots.

 

On a faster river, with lots of turns, I have learned my kayak does not do well. Especially when combined with my maybe intermediate skill level. My style kayak is longer and has a lip on the bottom that helps it "track," which catches in fast water and requires a different technique than I usually use. There is a trade-off in the ability to have a kayak that tracks and one that reacts more quickly. Both are wonderful qualities depending on where you are kayaking, your expertise and the conditions.

 

If you are a larger person there are kayaks that you "set on top of," instead of "get into". These work great for many of my male friends. They are more "typsiey" then the kind you get into, like I have.

 

I believe if I do the faster river that I had so many problems with again, I will rent a shorter, "quicker" kayak without the bottom lip. I will wear a helmet and probably a wetsuit if I do it in the Spring.

 

When I do a river for the first time I am always worried about what is ahead of me. Once I have done it, I can then relax a bit. That was part of the problem last year.

 

Back to the issue of stress for couples: I do know of one couple who have peacefully learned to use a two person kayak. For most couples I wouldn't recommend it.

 

Linda

[Worker 11811]

I have been trying to find a place that will rent us a couple of Walden Paddlers. They are larger, flat-bottom boats with an oversized keel. They are easier to "track" when using a double-ended paddle. (i.e.: They don't zig-zag all over the place.) The wide-flat bottoms make them almost impossible to tip over unless you are doing something seriously stupid like standing up without grabbing the gunwales.

 

The problem is that there aren't any places that will RENT them. Dicks, Gander Mt. and American Eagle Outfitters are the only places that have them but they are all retail stores. I'm NOT going to plunk down $1,000 for a pair of boats when we might only take them out on the water once!

 

We always talk about going out in a canoe again but something always "comes up". Even though I tell her Waldens are easy to paddle, she only seems lukewarm to the idea.

 

I WISH I could find a place to rent a couple of them!

[ReFur]

Here is a different take on Kayaking guys:

 

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/shark-following-kayaker.shtml