To say that I am fascinated with water is an understatement. Given a choice, I would live right by an ocean beach or a lake front, where I could see the water all day long.
Water sports just seem so much more fun than land sports. So when I was asked if I wanted to try Kayaking, I was all agog. My family had been kayaking in Kauai, and rafting on the American River and Rogue River, but I was always a passenger and not an active participant. The DSA instructors had been great with teaching me to ski last winter and this time, they were going to teach me to paddle a kayak.
Water sports just seem so much more fun than land sports. So when I was asked if I wanted to try Kayaking, I was all agog. My family had been kayaking in Kauai, and rafting on the American River and Rogue River, but I was always a passenger and not an active participant. The DSA instructors had been great with teaching me to ski last winter and this time, they were going to teach me to paddle a kayak.
Day 1 - Donner Lake
Day 1 was at the north end of Donner Lake. I was recruited to carry not one but 2 kayaks from the parking lot to the beach along with Michael Hunter. I did have to keep putting down the kayaks a number of times as i had never done this before and the handles do chaff your hands after a bit. In my case, it was more like dropping the kayak, rather than setting them down gently, given my impulsive body, but hopefully i will improve with practice.
Gary and Michael were my main instructors for the 3 hour lesson. Its always a bit of a challenge trying to teach someone with my combo of strengths and challenges, a task that requires a good deal of motor organization. So while i perfectly understood Michael's instruction to hold up the paddle with my elbows at 90 degree angle, when it came to the actual motor implementation of this seemingly simple instruction, i was at sea. I could visually imagine my arms up there in that 90 degree, but outwardly, i was restoring to my default stimming behavior, especially when the motor muscles cannot figure out what to do. And there was plenty to stim on as i was surrounded by some gorgeous scenery.
There were other issues as well. I could not hold the paddle properly for instance and kept dropping it. It is one long black handle, with pink paddles at either end, so where exactly does one put one's hands. It would slide and one side would become longer than the other. Michael first tried to put some kind of fat grip one one side so that i would have a guide at least for one hand. But the issue with the grip is that its feels a little mismatched in addition to becoming loose. So while one side had a place marker, the other hand did not, so that hand kept sliding all over the place, But the absolutely great thing about the DSA instructors is that they keep trying different things rather than give up. Michael came up with the idea of using 2 rubber tire strips and fastening them on the paddles with plastic tie downs. Now there were 2 grips in which to slide my fingers and grip the paddle. There was less need then for me to worry about how and where to grip the paddles, which helped with the organization. Of course my sensory system still found loopholes on which to stim on - one of the strips was slightly twisted and i kept trying to fix that - a totally unnecessary activity on my part.
We had to figure out how to get me to paddle. Finally we figured out that we could do a left-right and 1-2 verbal instruction to help me keep the rhythm. Voila, the kayak was moving under my own steam without any physical help. The left side of the paddle went into the water, pushed back the water, followed by the same action on the right. i imagined a giant turtle swimming by me - it lifted one big flipper, pushed the water, then lifted its other flipper to do the same. Then it flipped over on its back and did the same. all the while the turtle wagged its tiny tail, saying "how can this not be fun?"
There I was, paddling to the chant of Gary's 1-2. Now that's progress! I was totally totally thrilled. Though all that paddling was tiring, i was kayaking on my own steam on an absolutely beautiful lake. What more can one ask for? I can only get better with practice. I have to learn things like steering rather than just propelling the kayak forward etc. At the end of the current lesson, i had to paddle my kayak back to shore and drag my kayak up on the beach as well. The team and nature all cheered for me. Dad gave my effort and performance an A+ and I was promised a dinner at a restaurant of my choice when i got back.
Day 2 - Lake Tahoe
Day 2 began at the Tahoe Vista Recreation Area on the north shore of the Lake Tahoe. I had been boating with my cousin bro Arjun, 2 summers back on Lake Tahoe. We had gone all the way to Emerald Bay from the south shore. Lake Tahoe is absolutely massive and equally awesome, The waters start from a light green near the shore to a ocean blue as its depth increases. When you are in well in the middle of the lake, it almost feels like you are on an ocean, with its choppy waves, except you can see the distant mountainous shore all around. In the bright sun, the far shores turn a mysterious gray blue. Marina from DSA, lives right by the lake - OMG, how fantastic is that! - to see such views night and day, all year long.
I was pretty tired after the previous day's activity as well.
I was surrounded by beauty, I was afloat on beauty. All I had to do was stretch out my hand, and i was touching beauty. The sun rays pierced the water, turning it into a rainbow spectrum. The wind added its caress and expressed itself as waves that lapped at the kayak. The water responded with a sigh that was deep blue; total bliss and contentment.
The sensory systems of the entire group was exhilarated and we all basked in the arms of mother nature. In my case, however this outwardly translates to more stimming. I rocked and made verbal noises. There was so much visual stimulation (of the good kind), but still a lot for my sensory system to process comfortably. I do wish some medical researcher would find some clues that would help reduce the stimming, and soon. I am so tired of this constant, almost involuntary, stimming behavior.
Our route hugged the shore all the way to Crystal Bay, where the casinos are. Looking at the shore from the water is a totally interesting perspective. You pass other boats headed for deeper waters as well as other kayakers. You see people on shore and they look like action figures walking around. You see boat docks and buildings. Tom came all they way on a paddle board with a single oar. That looked interesting. You have to stand the whole time, so I guess a good deal of balance is called for. Maybe if I get better at the kayak, I can learn paddle board too in the future.
Thanks DSA for taking the time to teach me.
I have to agree with my friend the turtle and say, "How can this not be too much fun?"
I have to agree with my friend the turtle and say, "How can this not be too much fun?"
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