The Well Rounded Woman … Goes Kayaking

Boats, like bodies, come in many shapes and the Well Rounded Woman is happiest when one matches the other. The pencil-thin vessels preferred by Cantabrigian scullers, therefore, hold no interest for her; nor do canoes because their ribs so often protrude. As for row boats, well, let’s just say she disdains anything with a flat bottom. But a kayak—being sleek and lightweight but bulging just a bit in the middle—is another story altogether. Indeed, nothing pleases our genial journeyer more than jumping in one and taking off. When in a maternal mood, she even enjoys taking her progeny along for the ride.

All-American Excursions.
In July, when patriotic fervor peaks, all that “sea to shining sea” business wets her appetite for an at-home adventure, and there is no shortage of them to pick from. Take California. With 1264 miles of coastline, 420 lakes, and countless more kayak-able rivers, creeks and streams, the Golden State is awash with golden opportunities. Channel Islands National Park (notable for its colorful lava tubes) and Mono Lake (where the water is punctuated by ethereal tufa formations) are favorite locales.

Yet when time—or patience—is at a premium, San Francisco Bay makes a memorable alternative for our proficient paddler and her brood. City Kayak, for instance, offers two-and-a-half hour guided trips downtown priced at $59 for adults ($51 students)—and no experience is required. Urban paddles also await on the other side of the country. In New York City, the Downtown Boathouse runs twenty-minute treks that are perfect for pennywise parents. After all, the non-profit club not only provides all the necessities (including basic instruction): the trips themselves are absolutely free.

Canadian Surf and Turf.
The Well Rounded Woman could, in theory, strap a kayak atop her car and continue driving up the East Coast searching for another perfect place to put in. But the owners of Baymount Adventures, on Atlantic Canada’s Bay of Fundy, have already pinpointed it and are happy to share their secret. Better still, for $51 ($42 youth) they’ll supply her crew with kayaks; then take them for a two-hour paddle around a series of uniquely-shaped islands just offshore. Known as the Hopewell Rocks, these terracotta-colored, tree-tufted dots of land are undeniably lovely to look at.