How to get the most bang for your buck.

For $20, rent a sea kayak and give it a go. It's fun. Ok, only kind-of fun. Truly, it depends on your company. But, in a small amount of time, a lot can happen. This makes the return on your investment high. If you have spent any time reading this blog, you are well aware of our history, but consider this example anyway and learn from our mistakes.

Don't take a Thing who has well-versed knowledge of ocean creatures and another Thing who likes rules and is not afraid to repeat them, often, when they are not being followed. It becomes even more interesting when your kayak has a broken rudder which makes the boat really hard to turn. Since you know how to paddle, it shouldn't be so hard. But maybe, just maybe, you will be too distracted. Thing 2 will wail about getting a closer look than he really wanted at the hammerhead shark certainly (NOT) lurking below the surface. As you bob and drift along the coastline in the warm June sun, Big Man will try to gently knock your boat in the right direction by physically running his kayak into yours. Both Things take this as some sort of war declaration. Soon a sort of messy oar battle will begin. The parents will stare at each other helplessly. One parent will laugh and the other will pray for some sort of divine intervention. Lobster boats will come and go and with them a constant stream of wakes. These are supposed to be avoided at all costs according to a brief ( 30 seconds) "instructional" session. Thing 1 will have tears streaming down her face because it will be clear that all sort of rules are being broken. "Lost at sea! We are lost at sea!" might become a mantra even though the shore line is clearly in view.

In kayaks built for two, one hour was spent on the water on a beautiful day in Coastal Maine. The shore was barely 15 feet away, and yet clearly we are gifted at wringing out copious amounts of drama in a setting worthy of a post card.

Some (my mom and dad) will say Things come by it naturally (I wasn't just handed that outstanding female drama student award, thank you), others (Big Man) will simply shrug, and I will likely forget this whole thing. At least until the next opportunity for adventure presents itself. Probably, I will reflect too briefly at what we have to offer to the situation at hand. At the very least, I will think, we often get more than we bargain for--history is on our side with that one.