I don’t even know how to describe this obsession. Which is, I suppose, the definition of an obsession.
As the summer began I had a tiny spark of a thought that I needed to find something fun to do that’d get me outside more. I have a personal philosophy of recreation but I had just let it lapse.
My first thought was golf. I absolutely love golf. I grew up playing the game. I love playing… I’m actually a decent enough golfer. (Official handicap is 7, though 11 is more like it.) And, especially while we were in Michigan, it was a constant source of solace. So I started doing research on that. In Michigan I was able to get a membership at a course for under $1000 a year. (I played 5-6 times per week!) But here in San Diego there’s just not that cost-effective option, a course membership would cost me at least $500 per month! On top of that I need new clubs, so we’re really talking about something that’d be $3000 to start and $500-$1000 per month to do well.
Yeah, too much.
Then we went on vacation to Yosemite, where my favorite thing is to play in the Merced River. After which we went to Cayucos, where Kristen and I spent about 40% of our time either on the beach or walking the beach.
Somewhere in there I got bit by the idea that we needed to get into kayaking here in San Diego.
So when I got home in late-July the hunt for kayaks began. After several days of trolling Craigslist, asking a bunch of questions, watching way too many YouTube videos, we bought 2 kayaks and all the gear. (PFDs, car carriers, paddles, and everything else.)
And since then we’ve basically tried to find any available excuse to get the kayaks out on the water.
Fishing with Paul at Lake Murray
Exploring caves and getting flipped by waves at La Jolla
And pretty much any time we’ve got some free time I’m thinking… “I wonder if I can paddle….”
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