{"id":540,"date":"2011-04-06T20:18:00","date_gmt":"2011-04-06T20:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2011\/04\/florida-discoveries-8-kayaking.html"},"modified":"2012-05-20T20:14:56","modified_gmt":"2012-05-21T01:14:56","slug":"florida-discoveries-8-kayaking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2011\/04\/florida-discoveries-8-kayaking.html","title":{"rendered":"Florida Discoveries 8.5*: Kayaking!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>*I&#8217;ve had to do some re-numbering with my Florida Discoveries posts, so instead of re-numbering everything, I just stuck a &#8220;0.5&#8221; in there.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>How many of you remember this video from Sesame Street?<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5iWocitr2q8?fs=1\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"425\" height=\"344\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>For years and years and years this was my perception of kayaking. \u00a0Being sealed into this fiberglass tube-thingy as if you have no legs and navigating river rapids. \u00a0And of course being able to flip around like this guy (allegedly Jim Henson) does at the end.<\/p>\n<p>Last week as a surprise for my sister and nephews, we borrowed a 2+ man <a href=\"http:\/\/www.oceankayak.com\/\">ocean kayak<\/a> from our friend\/neighbor\/former commander Mike D. \u00a0This is different than the traditional, competition kayak that I was more familiar with (but had never done).<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;d been canoeing many times &#8212; Girl Scouting, in college, in Louisiana on the Sabine River &#8212; but kayaking is somewhat different, and in many cases it was easier.<\/p>\n<p>The first day we took the kayak out to Navarre Beach, we were mortified at how tall the waves were in the Gulf (it was chilly and windy), so we packed everything up and ran about 500&#8242; across the parking lot to the Santa Rosa Sound side where things were much calmer! \u00a0We all took turns taking short trips out.<\/p>\n<p>After my sister&#8217;s family left last weekend, we took a trip to the beach again, this time so Dave and the kids could try out the kayak. \u00a0The gulf side was nice and calm, and we all got a chance to paddle out towards the dolphins!<\/p>\n<p>Here are pictures from our two kayaking trips.<\/p>\n<table class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\"><a style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" href=\"https:\/\/picasaweb.google.com\/lh\/photo\/8w5m8lcMCxgJOyZdSA5UOg?feat=embedwebsite\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/_yz59FVsseJY\/TZzE4_TzNLI\/AAAAAAABUFA\/qN2TLu3VpAw\/s640\/192080_10150178807888428_503838427_8459101_379317_o.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\">I believe it was a 130&#8243; long kayak (just under 11&#8242;). \u00a0So here&#8217;s how it looked packed into our suddenly-small-looking SUV. \u00a0Luckily we were only transporting it about 5 miles, or 10 minutes drive.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<table class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\"><a style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" href=\"https:\/\/picasaweb.google.com\/lh\/photo\/2Don6NvF8SvlEcjRrHz-fA?feat=embedwebsite\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/_yz59FVsseJY\/TZJpFIyT86I\/AAAAAAABSss\/iurimU9uw6M\/s640\/IMGP9200.JPG\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"428\" \/><!--more--><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\">My oldest nephew, who was a champ helping us carry this thing around. \u00a0It&#8217;s about 80 lbs. so two people can lift it easily enough, but it&#8217;s so large it wasn&#8217;t as easy as we thought.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<table class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\"><a style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" href=\"https:\/\/picasaweb.google.com\/lh\/photo\/Is9Y9R_EO2s-1556EKmjRQ?feat=embedwebsite\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/_yz59FVsseJY\/TZJsF3J0RPI\/AAAAAAABSvA\/Xijbz_0Tp1Y\/s640\/IMGP9213.JPG\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"428\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Our first trip out. \u00a0My oldest nephew and me. \u00a0Thanks to my sister&#8217;s awesome camera, it looks like she was in the water with us!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<table class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\"><a style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" href=\"https:\/\/picasaweb.google.com\/lh\/photo\/m5bO753TREBkS37OWTOHhg?feat=embedwebsite\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/_yz59FVsseJY\/TZKCikr9RsI\/AAAAAAABTB8\/7K3ccWUiEMQ\/s640\/IMGP9303.JPG\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"428\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\">My sister showing a little leg, with her two oldest sons. \u00a0A younger kid could sit between two adults. \u00a0That&#8217;s the Navarre Bridge behind them.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<table class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\"><a style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" href=\"https:\/\/picasaweb.google.com\/lh\/photo\/2efrAzOMHRU5FSTNgzcPCw?feat=embedwebsite\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/_yz59FVsseJY\/TZKZbz5nWkI\/AAAAAAABTVk\/_QF-aZa612Q\/s640\/IMGP9397.JPG\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"428\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\">I think this is a great picture suitable for framing! \u00a0(Hint Hint Margaret!)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<table class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\"><a style=\"clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" href=\"https:\/\/picasaweb.google.com\/lh\/photo\/UZs3ALVhjoHkOrw_rXoghA?feat=embedwebsite\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/_yz59FVsseJY\/TZKc9N481EI\/AAAAAAABTYc\/S_0mP5ZyJ9E\/s640\/IMGP9411.JPG\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"428\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\">But THIS is my favorite in the bunch. \u00a0When I asked her to &#8220;SMILE&#8221;, we got this smile that reminds me so much of our Dad&#8217;s smile!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<table class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\"><a style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" href=\"https:\/\/picasaweb.google.com\/lh\/photo\/td5QYt3O3iCq_g0b2UUEWw?feat=embedwebsite\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/_yz59FVsseJY\/TZv00ocW1fI\/AAAAAAABUC8\/Jqg4w3b5uO0\/s640\/IMG_4468.JPG\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\">This is Dave and Jacob taking a trip out about 5 days later. \u00a0With just the four of us, we had to take turns with one of the adults staying ashore.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<table class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\"><a style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" href=\"https:\/\/picasaweb.google.com\/lh\/photo\/YgWytUSUezhGTGtLaOyhcw?feat=embedwebsite\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/_yz59FVsseJY\/TZv05FMElxI\/AAAAAAABUDM\/bITOd-sxWAc\/s640\/IMG_4472.JPG\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\">This was out in the gulf, so there were more significant waves. \u00a0When Timmy and I went out next, Timmy LOVED when the boat would crash head-on into a wave. \u00a0Unfortunately, when we went out several hundred feet, where it gets really QUIET, Timmy got nervous and asked to go back to shore.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<table class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\"><a style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" href=\"https:\/\/picasaweb.google.com\/lh\/photo\/IP4y-uX_tkC8JaFZfapCqA?feat=embedwebsite\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/_yz59FVsseJY\/TZv1AqCgvrI\/AAAAAAABUDw\/nX4pZ3zeJ3A\/s640\/IMG_4480.JPG\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\">When Dave and Jacob were first heading out, Timmy wanted to chase after them. \u00a0This is about the point where Timmy realized that wasn&#8217;t such a good idea. \u00a0For some reason, I just feel the <em>defeat<\/em> in this picture.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>*I&#8217;ve had to do some re-numbering with my Florida Discoveries posts, so instead of re-numbering everything, I just stuck a &#8220;0.5&#8221; in there. How many of you remember this video from Sesame Street? For years and years and years this was my perception of kayaking. \u00a0Being sealed into this fiberglass tube-thingy as if you have [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[145,626,147,136,133,146],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5ycQ0-8I","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1975,"url":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2013\/03\/florida-discoveries-41-navarre-beach-marine-science-station.html","url_meta":{"origin":540,"position":0},"title":"Florida Discoveries 41: Navarre Beach Marine Science Station","date":"27 March 13","format":false,"excerpt":"Just before the kids' Spring Break, I had the chance to partially chaperone for Timmy's class trip to the Navarre Beach Marine Science Station. My sons have taken field trips with their classes every school year they've been living here, and I suspect it's an annual tradition for all the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"dolphins\"","img":{"alt_text":"The Navarre Beach Marine Science Station is run by Santa Rosa County and the Santa Rosa County Schools. Its mission is to promote environmental awareness through education of the county's marine ecosystem.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/DSC_2606-1024x678.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1740,"url":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2013\/02\/florida-discoveries-37-navarre-beach-mardi-gras-parade.html","url_meta":{"origin":540,"position":1},"title":"Florida Discoveries 37: Navarre Beach Mardi Gras Parade","date":"10 February 13","format":false,"excerpt":"Last year we went to Mobile and experienced some pretty serious Mardi Gras-ness. This year we kept it local, so here's some pictures from the Navarre Beach Mardi Gras parade, sponsored by the Navarre Krewe of Jesters. You had to get to the route quite early, since they close the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"florida\"","img":{"alt_text":"Our waiting spot for the parade. We arrived 90 minutes early, we had great viewing.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/DSC_2471-1024x678.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":998,"url":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2012\/05\/florida-discoveries-22-nysa-baseball.html","url_meta":{"origin":540,"position":2},"title":"Florida Discoveries 22: NYSA Baseball","date":"06 May 12","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday was one of the baseball-iest days I'd ever experienced. \u00a0Each of the boys had their own baseball games during the day, then we headed out to Pensacola and enjoyed seeing our new local AA minor league baseball team, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, in their brand new stadium right on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"baseball\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/IMG_3207-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":534,"url":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2011\/03\/florida-discoveries-5-mass-wisteria.html","url_meta":{"origin":540,"position":3},"title":"Florida Discoveries 5: Mass Wisteria!","date":"23 March 11","format":false,"excerpt":"It's a 12.3 mile drive on U.S. 98 between our neighborhood in Navarre, and Dave's base to our east. That road is a nightmare a lot of the time; it's the only east-west artery along the Gulf Coast connecting Pensacola with Fort Walton Beach, so the majority of businesses set\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"florida discoveries\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/_yz59FVsseJY\/TYpjEJnpavI\/AAAAAAABSIo\/mNT2HI3EVCw\/s640\/IMG_4424.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":555,"url":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2011\/05\/florida-discoveries-10-dr-beals-shell-museum.html","url_meta":{"origin":540,"position":4},"title":"Florida Discoveries 10: Dr. Beal&#8217;s Shell Museum","date":"04 May 11","format":false,"excerpt":"I call it \"Pulling a Maryann\". \u00a0I see something while driving down the road, so I pull over and take some pictures.When it's in my neighborhood, that's one thing. \u00a0I don't have many problems doing that when I see some pretty flowers. \u00a0But today I screeched onto the shoulder off\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"florida\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-PHj9nszYiRo\/TcCnGEGJYtI\/AAAAAAABVV8\/OtVcbr6JFQY\/s400\/IMG_4656.JPG?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":541,"url":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2011\/04\/florida-discoveries-9-akers-of-strawberries.html","url_meta":{"origin":540,"position":5},"title":"Florida Discoveries 9: Akers of Strawberries!","date":"07 April 11","format":false,"excerpt":"Love that name! \u00a0It's the name of our nearby you-pick strawberry farm.This post will be about our strawberry picking experience, which wasn't quite as nice as\u00a0The Vollmer Farm in North Carolina, but it has the\u00a0Bellevue Berry Farm in Nebraska\u00a0beat, hands down!My next post will cover the strawberry jam I made\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"akers of strawberries\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/_yz59FVsseJY\/TZzLgDa-uMI\/AAAAAAABUHo\/3caDuzsDjBQ\/s400\/IMG_7319.JPG?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=540"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}