Vacations

What is a vacation when you paddle for a living? When life's an adventure, how do you take time off? Well, thanks to the wonders of technology I am on vacation while this post is being loaded. I'm sure I'm having a good time, but I wanted to share a thought in my absence. Kayaking is not a vacation.

Kayaking is an activity. You can do it while on vacation. It can be the reason you go to your vacation destination. It can even be the focal point of all your time off. But time off from what? That's what makes a vacation. It's a break, stepping away from the everyday and doing something different. It's free from responsibilities and its purpose is enjoyment.

Kayaking can certainly fit into that description and I've taken many a kayaking vacations. This time I'm mostly going to be on terra firma (though maybe a couple rivers will get run). The important thing is that I'm stepping away from teaching, stepping away from looking after other people, and doing what I want.

People often say that it must be nice to have a job (teaching kayaking) that's like a vacation every day. They don't understand that learning to kayak is like a vacation but teaching is work. It's fun and rewarding, often in a beautiful place and definitely with good people. But it's still a job. And jobs require a vacation - a chance to recharge and get a new perspective. A chance to leave aside the ordinary (even if your ordinary is someone's extraordinary) and change things up. So that's why I'm on vacation. I look forward to coming back fresh and excited and with a world of changes for my future.

In the mean time, enjoy some early Paddle California kayak porn: