I guess it was about four years ago that I had my first Kayak ride. I was in Pennsylvania visiting my brother when I mentioned that I would love to try a kayak. Harold, my brother’s friend, had two, one for himself the other for his wife. Tony contacted Harold. The four of us joined Harold and Helene at a nearby lake. Helene and I got into the kayaks and the others climbed into a motorboat.

The kayaks were sit- in style. At that time I did not know that there was any other type. My sitting down in the kayak was not a pretty sight. Two years earlier I had my right knee re-surfaced. The pain was gone and I can walk fine but sitting gracefully on floor level was and is not possible. I sort of started bending as though to sit and then just flopped down, not graceful but not painful.

Helene and I paddled about twenty minutes across the lake. I loved every minute. The motorboat with the others followed as they enjoyed their outing too. When we got back to the dock about twenty minutes later, Richard wanted to try. Considering that he had a heart attack two weeks earlier I was nervous. We let him get into the kayak and paddle about 30 feet away and back.

Ever since that day I have been working to get my own kayak.