Kayaking in the Pacific Ocean: A Fancy Tale to Tell

Ever dared yourself in trying a sport you never ever thought you'll ever do? Shhh...(insert confession here) I'm a bit of a scaredy-cat when it involves daring sports but I'm not one to back away from a challenge. And dude! Kayaking at the beach of California filled with Surfer dudes? Totally doing it! Wouldn't you?! Oh yeah!

Well, Surfer dudes was a great incentive but what really got me to walk down that water into the freezing cold Pacific ocean was the chance to experience a once in a lifetime opportunity to a) try something new and b) learn what Kayaking is all about. And eventhough I was born in a city surrounded by ocean and huge rivers, Oh boy! It sure was intimidating seeing the big waves coming right at you from Launching to Landing!

The Kayaking Survivors!
@ShannonCarino @DivasandDorks @DntSpkWhinese @Lizz_Porter @AmyBHole @ElenaSonnino @TechSavvyMama @SueBob @MaricrisG @Shellthings @KristiBonney @AllthingsFadra @LinzLovesYou - Photo courtesy of @Sbadventure

I almost stepped back and retreated. But I'm no coward so it was on! I totally convinced myself  "I'm going to conquer this water just like a true survivor warrior!"

Unfortunately, this was not Survivor and there was no Million $$$ reward money for your troubles. It was as raw as reality would get! We had to sign waivers, yes, them waivers where you release the service provider from accountability if in case tragic incident like death, or in this case, death by drowning happens to you or you get to be a shark's lunch! Heard about the Surfer that died due to a shark attack in Sta. Barbara recently? Uh-huh! This was most certainly better than reality TV because it's for reals!

As soon as we got into the water, we immediately noticed that the water was NOT as calm as we hoped. Think big waves bouncing back and forth from the shore and the retaining walls that surrounded part of the beach. Whoa! Like on a roller coaster going up and down! And then there I was, flapping my paddles like a newborn chick learning how to swim for the first time and getting wet and soaked! Besides it being an intense arm exercise, it was an extreme feat of balancing the canoe without flipping over. It was a bit nerve-wracking when waves were strong enough to carry you out further away to the open sea.

My Kayaking partner and I were not the best paddler in the group and were almost always left behind biting everyone else's dust but guess what? Being left behind apparently had a perk. While everyone were close or landed on the shore and we were half-way out into the sea, an amazing surprise graced us with its presence. A SEA LION grazing for food swam a few feet away from our canoe! Our million dollar reward.

Sore arms, sore hands and sore shoulders. It was worth it. I will do it again. Not as glamorous as glamping but still posh if you ask me! Especially if you're one of those who just sat there on the canoe and let your partner do all the hard paddling! Yep.

Thanks to Santa Barbara Adventure Company through Michael Cohen who led the team that "trained" the TWIN-istahs that day. They sure did a great job showing us the FUN side of Kayaking. They taught me how to eat a leaf from a gigantic plant that grows all the way to the surface of the water. Made us do some challenges I will never imagine doing on my own out in the open sea and best of all, I learn how to Kayak and admire the beauty of the California coast at San Refugio Beach in Sta. Barbara! Thank God there were no sharks that day.

We survived Kayaking!
photo courtesy of @Lizz_Porter via Instagram

13 rockin' women of  TWIN survived Kayaking and the freezing cold sea water that day and had a blast! Were we proud of it? You betcha!

"Thanks Toyota! You certainly spoiled us."


*Toyota covered my travel and accommodations to attend this event as part of being a TWIN member. All opinions are mine.