Ultimate Blog Hop!

Hello one and all! If this is your first time visiting the ole' Jonesie then please let me explain a little. I write on a variety of topics. (basically whatever may pop into my head or even whatever rant I have for the day.) Some things are a little out there, I admit. But honestly, I have spent so much of my life worrying about what others think that when I finally released myself from the "rules and roles of society" I really began to find myself. So, my request is that you read more than just one post before you decide. I promise somewhere along the way I am sure you will say what so many others have said at one time or another: Jonesie, you simply say what others only think in their heads!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

The Great Kayaking Adventure

 (Part One of The Day at the Guadalupe River)

(Yes, I admit I am a little late in this particular posting but what can I say?  I am only human. )

Well, one would think that the title says it all but honestly I think it leaves out way too much!  I mean honestly how can I sum up the excitement and fun that consumed Wednesday, July 21, 2010? 

The story really begins back at the beginning of June when I traveled south to attend a family function in which I had the joy of visiting with Aubrey and her son Jonathan.  We had spent the day at Surfside Beach and the topic of the conversation somehow turned to the direction of a recent day trip the kids and I had taken with friends to Canyon Lake.   

(Blogs about the visit to Surfside Beach as well as the trip to 
Canyon Lake can be found in earlier posts.)

The kids and I were explaining the fun that we had while on that trip kayaking and swimming.  I am still not quite sure if Jonathan had really wanted to or if he even knew what kayaking was about but he began to speak in detail about the sport with Chris as we drove along.  Some time passed before Jonathan quite frankly explained that he hadn't been kayaking because in his thoughts his mom was a scaredy cat.  

Now, while I have teased Aubrey about his statement in her defense she does have a very good reason she has not taken her son kayaking which is safety.  For the record I completely support her in this and do not encourage Jonathan or any child for that matter to tell the world about their mothers in such a fashion.  However, I must admit that I found it so cute that he was so matter of fact about the statement.  Sorry, Aubrey! **insert smile here*

 The conversation continued and of course being a boy Chris couldn't help but talk about how much fun he had kayaking.  I finally asked Jonathan if he would like Pa and Chris to teach him how to kayak when he came for a visit and of course I quickly discovered that was a stupid question to ask a hyper six year old little boy!  So then, the plans were made for Pa and Chris to give Jonathan kayak lessons when he came for a visit to San Antonio.

And so the day of The Great Kayaking Adventure began!

The day began with an urgent sense of excitement as all the kids (Ashley, Kelsey, Chris, Megan, Harmony, Jonathan, Serenity and Kaylee) gobbled their breakfast down faster than the speed of light and rushed to jump into the vehicles to leave for the river.  (Thank goodness Ashley now has her license and could drive the car because it took two vehicles to transport this zoo!)  We took off down the road with me thinking I was being smart and refraining from telling the kids it was about a hour drive to the spot we were going but my sneakiness was quickly unmasked when Jonathan demanded an explanation as to why we were not there yet after about ten minutes of driving.   Pa attempted to appease him with a drawn out talk about how long it would take but I could tell by the tap tap tapping of Jonathan's fingers on the van window that he didn't really care what Pa was saying and in reality was just being an excited little six year old.  I could literally "feel" Jonathan's little eyes rolling in his head as he let out a loud sigh.

After a bit of an adventure getting to the kayak rental place we made our kayak choices and paid the fee.
(Why do I say adventure? Well, let me tell you that I forgot to get directions before I left the house and somehow in the midst of getting 8 kids, well 9 if you count Chuck, dressed and fed as well as ensure that lunch for the day was properly packed, don't forget that 2 of us are gluten free and require special food preparations, 2 dogs, 1 guinea pig, and a cat fed and set for the day without their human companions, packed life vests, drinks and grabbed the sunblock I forgot my cell phone which had the number of the kayak rental place. Thank goodness for excellent friends that we can call on Chuck's phone and ask to Google the place!)

The kids, including Chuck, could hardly wait to get in the water.  I couldn't help but laugh as the boys quickly jumped into the kayaks and were in the water in what felt like 2.0 seconds flat.

This is a quick video shot that I took of Jonathan's first ride in the kayak.  Without knowing how he would like the kayak I attempted to get a shot of him saying hi to his mom but 
the best I could get was a wave.  If you will notice he is more interested in playing 
in the water at this point, but don't worry as that quickly changed!
Chris can be seen in the single kayak in the background.

 After only a few trips in the kayak it appeared that Jonathan had become quite the little expert.  In the video above you can see how well Jonathan is paddling!  

At one point Pa did get a break as you can see because 
Jonathan announced that he wanted to paddle by himself! 


Now, if you will recall what I described above I said that we had 8 kids on this crazy adventure to the river.  So much happened in the course of the day that If I attempted to write it all in one post it would take forever to load and some afflicted with ADHD or others that are simply impatient may get bored with an extremely long post.  Therefore, I am going to attempt to break my story telling into several short but talented groupings.

So, please don't miss the continuing saga of 
The Great Kayaking Adventure!

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