Made A Video And Rode A Kayak.

     It was a good weekend. I made a video, went kayaking, and started the process on something that could end very well. The first two I'll talk about, the last one though. Well, I'm keeping that a secret for now, but trust me, it's going to be good.

     I finally made the video that I've been thinking about for a week now. The thing that was holding me back, was that it didn't really fit in with what I've been doing on the YouTube channel. Then I remembered that the channel is just an extension of this blog, and in those contexts it fits in completely. I'll let the video explain everything rather than bore you with a synopsis of it then letting you watch it. Here it is.



     I hope you enjoyed it. After spending the entire rest of Friday evening editing and uploading that video to YouTube. I woke up early on Saturday to go kayaking. I didn't get the video posted until after midnight, so waking up was something that I really didn't want to do at 5 in the morning. I hit the snooze a few times, and finally got up. Made a quick breakfast and I was on my way.

     Traffic was terrible. It seemed like everyone that I ended up behind had to go 5 to 10 miles per hour under the speed limit. It delayed my by about 15 minutes overall. I was nearly late, when I left at a time that would get me there early. I met up with Elie Wolf ( wait, I thought you said you would never use people's names on here? I did say that, but Elie Wolf is not her real name, so it all works out. ) and we made the long drive to Dunnellon, Florida. That is where Rainbow River is. It is a spring fed river that we were hoping would have a lot of wildlife on it, so that Elie could get some great photos for her blog and Instagram. Well, there was plenty of wildlife on the water, it just wasn't the type we were hoping for. That picture to the right is only a very small example of what the river was like. There were hundreds if not thousands of people. There was no hope of getting any good wildlife photos, but we made the best of it.

     We had originally planned on going to the location that I had gone kayaking before, but when her friend invited more friends, it became an issue of ruining Elie's spot. If there were a bunch of noisy people paddling up the river, it would scare off all the gators and really anything else that we might have seen. Rainbow River was an entirely new location that none of us had ever been to, so we didn't know what to expect. When I found out that it was a cold spring that fed the river, I knew that gators were out of the question. They like warm water, but when we saw all the people, we knew it was going to be hard to find anything. We were lucky enough to see some Cormorants and Anhingas. Those are some widely common birds in Florida, and they stay near the water. We also saw a few turtles hanging around on downed trees. Here are the pictures I took along the river.

   





     It was a real fun thing. I learned a few things about rowing a kayak. The deeper you dig while paddling, the more work you do, and also the more correction you need to make. When you dig deep, you end up turning the kayak, rather than keeping a straight line. That led me to paddling more shallow, it worked out great. I could maintain an extended pace and keep the kayak straight. It did make it difficult when I picked up speed. With speed, turning quickly was not much of an option, so I still have a lot to learn about paddling a kayak. It's not the same as paddling a canoe. It takes more finesse. The more I do it, the better I'll get at it.

     We rented the kayaks from Rainbow River Canoe & Kayak. Everyone there was real helpful, and exceptionally nice. At the end of the day, when we went back in the office, the guy that I believe was the owner, gave us free waters to quench our thirst. He told us all about how that day was one of the busiest of the year, and how if we came back after October, we wouldn't have to contend with all the tube riders. The river only allows tubes to run for 6 months during the year, so it has potential to be a much quieter day on the river. I don't know if we will go back, but it's an option for another time.

     Before we left the area, we decided to stop and grab a bite to eat. We decided on the Blue Gator. It had a great name it claimed that they had vegetarian options. Elie is vegan so I always check those things when I choose a restaurant. She picked this one for the very same reason. We got there just as it began to rain. It had mostly outside seating, which is where we wanted to be anyway, but all the tables had been taken up, that were under a roof, so we ended up at the bar. Not to worry, I felt no pressure what so ever to have a drink. I got a Sprite and was very happy with it. We checked out the menu, and had a bit of a panic attack, well I did anyway. There was no vegetarian option, unless you count the House Salad, which you could add; chicken, shrimp, or grouper to. They did have a bunch of fried appetizers that were vegetable based, but no real option. Elie made do with tater tots and onion rings, which came in giant baskets. There was enough there for 4 people. I got a cheeseburger thinking that it was one of the healthiest things on the menu. I don't think I was wrong. The cheeseburger was good, and it did come with tomatoes, onions, pickles, and lettuce. Everything was fresh, and had a good taste. That was all I was hoping for. I helped Elie the best I could with her onion rings, but they did me in in the end. I was stuffed, and we still had more than half of each basket left. This was a definite day that we both failed our weight loss goals. Not to worry, we changed our entire ways of eating, so one day isn't a death sentence.

     Now for the matter of the video footage of the kayaking adventure. The footage I shot looks fantastic, but the audio is a complete disaster. I had to use a test mount for it, and the mic that is on the GoPro picked up everything directly behind it, which was the drawstring from my hat tapping against the base of the mount for the GoPro. I'm going to take a little time with it, and see what I can do with it. I may just strip all the audio off of it, and make a music type video from it. I will come up with something, and when I do, I'll share it with you, so keep an eye out for it.

     That is really all I have to say tonight. What's that? You want to know about that process I mentioned above? I can't help you with that. I want it to remain a surprise for you, also there a very good reason that I can't talk about it right now, and no I can't tell you the reason either. When I can talk about it, I will tell you everything. Trust me, you will understand then why I can't talk about it now. It will all make sense when you hear the whole story when I can tell it. Peace in and goodnight.