Kayaking is expensive

As most of you who read BB's blog last week know, he bought me a kayak for my birthday. It is a nice, tandem, inflatable kayak that strongly resembles a canoe to me. Last week, taking it out on the Sandy River at our camping site was quite beautiful. The Sandy River Gorge is a gorgeous place to camp and kayak. The river is not that deep and the scenery is breathtaking.

But yesterday, we decided to take it out on one of the rivers that run through Portland, the Willamette, since BB is on call and we couldn't go very far. It is large and deep and patroled by oregon state patrol. I find it remarkable that no one that we had mentioned we bought a kayak to told us that there is a huge fine for not having a life jacket. Not even the guys who sold us the kayak. And no one from our home group knew or they would have mentioned it last week.

Now we know. Being brought back to shore in the police boat and being handed a ticket for $242 started to ruin the afternoon. Then we tried to go biking from the park we were at and BB's tire was completely flat so he went and got a few life jackets and we tried again. This time, we made it to the island we were originally headed for. It was a small little island, Ross Island, in the middle of the Willamette. Some people were camping there and when BB walked by, they told him he had been voted off the island and all of the kids started chanting "Drunken Sailor" at him. I didn't witness this, I was by the kayak with the kids playing in the sand. So he was quite offended. All and all, a very strange, rather upsetting day that BB and I never wish to repeat.