Lake Audubon, Reston, Virginia

Taking off at 9 am!

The forecast said that we would get few shower on Saturday morning so I didn't want to drive far to other boat rental places. (But we didn't get any. Got a lot of sun instead. Brownie me.) I decided to ask my instructor if I can try some of the school's boats to explore Lake Audubon when the class took place. I had been wanting to explore this lake since it is so lovely in fall.  My request was granted so here I was. Paddling.

Houses

Lake Audubon is a bit bigger than Lake Anne and surrounded by higher-end housing but no boat rental available. The launch boat here is very active and no fee is charged. I took some photos and I hope you enjoy them. (You can check out more photos on my new photo page on Shutterfly. I am in a progress of moving my photos from multiply.com as it is closing down its photo sharing service.)

Aww there is a little cove to explore here...

A pedestrian bridge number 37 over Snakeden Branch.

The prettiest setting for a storm drain I've ever seen so far.

Heading back to the lake

I scared him/her and a couple turtles today. 

Houses around the lake and a lovely sky

Who doesn't love flowers ?! (ok..I was stuck.)

Water can have a pattern too.

Sleeping Duckies

Jackson Journey 13.5, my ride in the morning.

I also took this opportunity to paddle (and carry) 2 kayaks, Jackson Journey 13.5 and 14. And of course practiced paddling strokes and maneuvers. I'll write about them on a separate blog. Yep! I am on the search for a boat. We'll see if I decide to keep renting for another year instead.

Oh well I am sore. (good sore) I ended up paddling for over 3 hours instead of 2 hours as planned. My instructor talked me out of it with by asking a very simple question "Did you practice all your strokes ?" Eww.

Anyway, I would say you can paddle around the lake for fun in less than 1 hour. 

Until next paddling. If the schedule works out, I'll be canoeing at Riverbend! :)

Another Kayak Lesson at Lake Audubon, Reston, VA

Lake Audubon

I took another kayak class with CKAPCO again today. It's a lesson stepping up from a beginner class. There were about 6 students but we got 3 instructors! The ratio was awesome because when we broke into small groups to practice every two students got one instructor. If you did something wrong, it could be corrected right away.

We got into the physics of a kayak and paddling in the beginning then did a lot of reviewing and refining several strokes. The fun part was combining edging with series of regular strokes to make the boat do whatever you wanted. I loved when the boat just glided through the water most. (Loved paddling in number 8 pattern too!) I learnt this from the previous class so it felt nice to revisit this again.

The boats used in the class. (I used the yellow one.)

More boats used in the class.

The leftover boats.

The highlight was probably the rolling. It was fun to be in the water but it's really a tough lesson for me. Getting myself into the upside-down kayak was very difficult. In order to roll I needed to get back into the upside-down boat completely. I couldn't do it. I ended up with wet exits (getting out of the boat completely) and climbed back onto it twice instead. I found out later that my feet needed to brace against the footrest to make it easier to push myself into the boat. Then kept my thighs against the cockpit and then I should be able to snap the hip to roll myself back up.

Oh, well that's easy to say.

A photo of my boat (and me somewhere underneath) taken by my instructor

My 365 Day 154

Practice Practice Practice (I can hear my instructor's voice in my head. And Mike, you'd better not post that photo of me in the water! : P)

Anyway, it's a great day to be on the water. Got educated along with some good sore, bruises on my thighs, sun tan patterns on both feet (since my water shoes have gaps between the straps) and was completely wet from head to toe. Now I am so ready to go to bed. (It's 7 pm.) 

You can use kayaks as an owning.

The Lunch Table.

Lake Audubon in Fall (You can check out more photos from my photo page from last year.)

If you're interested in paddling here, you need to bring your own boat. There is no boat rental at this lake due to staff shortage which is unfortunate because it's a beautiful lake and Lake Anne is getting a little bit too small for me. :) The boat ramp is on Twin Branches Road near the swimming pool.

Next week my friend is taking me to Swallow Falls, Maryland, where there is a man-made whitewater facility.  I've never had a whitewater lesson nor ever wanted to do. (I am pretty slow if you must know.) But I am going to give it a try. Brrr. I'll let you know how it goes.

Until then. :)