Dave, the boys and I went on a 'Beginner Kayak and Canoeing' course yesterday.

It was organized by the local YMCA and the Outdoor Recreation office, and it was really very cheap - just $14 per person for 6 hours out on the lake.

I was really nervous about it; I've never canoed or kayaked before.  It's not something that my parents exposed me to - my dad would get sea-sick walking through a puddle.  The closest we came to kayaking was when we went out on one of those pedal-boats, and even then we had to cut our time short because dad was queasy.  So, I was more than a little apprehensive about making an ass of myself in front of 15 other people - all of whom seemed really outdoors-y.  I was worried about falling in - and as it turns out, I WAS the first one to get dunked, but it wasn't my fault.

We had to pair up for the first outing.  We had these two seater canoes, so I took Davey and Dave took Jake.  We did really well at first - was at the back steering and Davey was up front.  Then Davey decided he wanted to be at the back, so we paddled our way back to shore and switched out.  I was already seated at the front when Davey stepped into the back  - and tipped the canoe over, dumping me in the water.

I don't have a photo of myself getting submerged, but I do have this:

(Sorry about the cleavage) I was trying to wring out my pant legs - it was an exercise in futility, as it turns out, because I had to wade into the water and demonstrate that I could get back onto a kayak if I fell of.  Everyone get wet yesterday, I was just the first one.  People capsized in their canoes, in their kayaks...there was a lot of falling off of things into the water, and I had nothing to worry about.  I wasn't the most athletic one, but I wasn't the worst.

That's Dave looking pensive and manly in his lifejacket.  He paired up with me for a canoe ride whilst the first group of people were out in the kayaks (there were 8 kayaks and 18 people, so we had to take turns).  We made our way around the entire lake and saw some pretty big fish and a LOT of turtles. 

The boys had a good time - we all really enjoyed ourselves. Dave's wanted to learn how to kayak for a while, so it was a really good day for him.   He's talking about buying a pair of kayaks so we can go paddle anytime we want to!

It was a good day out, for not a lot of money.  Gotta love that!