Comparing Kayaks

A fair warning - today's post is all about kayaks. It's a subject that's been on both of our brains a lot lately, and Trent and I have found it to be a fun hobby, even though we haven't been able to go much yet. We hope to change that soon, though. We've been on the hunt for new kayaks for a while and seem to be close to finding the perfect ones for us.

In this post I've put together some thoughts and tips as we look for our perfect kayak, and maybe it will help others on their hunts as as well. So if you're on the hunt for a new kayak, or a soon to be first-time kayak owner, or maybe you're just interested in our kayak-search story - read on!

A little backstory - last year we sold our Pelicans and have been searching for the perfect new kayaks to replace them. The Pelicans just didn't fit us as well as we would have liked. The first time we went, it was fun but not as relaxing as we wanted it to be. I think that not being able to test them before we bought them, and being a little naive to the world of kayaks, we just ended up buying the wrong kind for our needs.

We found the Pelicans to be a little more "rocky" and less stable. We want something that we can just hang out in, have fun, and be comfortable. And not worry about possibly tipping over in the process! So we sold them and planned to get something else.

We've done our research since then and have looked at a lot of places and several different kinds of kayaks. We even had fun testing some out. Here's what we learned so far, and why we're thiissss close to getting our new kayaks!

• Pelicans - the first brand of kayaks we bought - tend to be on the cheaper end, and so far, it's shown. Our first round with the kayaks wasn't horrible, but when you compare the Pelicans with the pricier brands, it's easy to see you get what you pay for. We can even tell the difference in the plastic material that the kayaks are made of. Pelicans are super light, so they seem to be carried and tossed around by the water easier.
• The frontrunner for me is the Perception Conduit 9.5. With the Perception kayaks, the material is seemingly more durable and less "cheap-feeling." And I immediately felt comfortable when I sat in this one. When I took it out on the water, I knew this would be my next one.

The seat was comfy, there are knee pads on the sides, and it felt so much more stable. So I'm 99% sure that this will be my next kayak. My next step is finding one in a store locally.

• The stability is all in the Hull! We learned this, unfortunately too late. This is the secret to whether or not your kayak is going to be stable, or if you'll be worrying you're going to tip over the entire time. Trying and sitting in different kayaks, we learned that the flatter the hull (bottom of the kayak), the less likely it's probably going to tip. But if the hull is at a steep "V" shape, it's built more for speed than stability and is probably going to rock back and forth more in the water. The Emotion kayaks we rented at Loud Thunder were the most stable we've sat in yet. These are on the shorter and wider side, so they are built for easygoing paddling and stability.

• There are so many different brands and types of kayaks. There are sit-on-top kayaks, sit-in kayaks, and tandem kayaks. They range in size - I would say on average from about 8 feet long to 13 feet. There are kayaks built for beginners, some built for sea and some for calm waters, some for going fast, and some for fishing. Brands include Pelican, Emotion, Perception, Ascend, Sun Dolphin...the list goes on. It can be difficult to choose which one is right for you. That's why we're still looking almost a year later!

I think the best thing you can do is just follow your gut. If you sit in one or get to try it out, and it feels right, then go for it. Once I find that Perception kayak locally, it will be mine! :) Then Trent is going to try it out and see how he likes it. I think Trent is getting a little closer to finding his perfect one, too. 

So if you're like us and are searching for that perfect kayak, good luck! Just remember, don't make the same mistake as us and get the first ones you set your eyes on. It takes time to find the perfect one. Happy hunting!

Kayaking Fun at Lake George

Well, we haven't bought new kayaks yet, but we did get a chance to rent some for a couple of hours this past weekend at Lake George. The last time we went kayaking on this lake was in 2014, almost 2 years ago. It was what really got us interested in getting our own kayaks and going more often.

I think one reason is because of the kind of kayaks they are. They're smaller, 8 foot Emotion kayaks, and they are super stable. There is such a different between these and the Pelican ones that we had. These are much more stable and a little easier to maneuver in my opinion.

It was so nice to be out on the lake again! I forgot how calm and serene this lake is. It's in the middle of Loud Thunder Forest Preserve, so there's so much wilderness all around you.

It's also not too busy, so at times you feel like you have the whole lake to yourself. It's nice that they still rent out kayaks and boats. Not much has changed since the last time we were out there - it's still just $8/ hour per boat. The boats do look a little more worn from a lot of use, but they still work just as well. And they no longer rent the boats out down by the dock - there's now an office at the top of the hill where you sign the boats in, then go down and take them out, and pay for them afterward.

We did a couple of hours again - we got there a little late, after we planted the garden, so we just went from about 4:00 to 6:00. We definitely got a little bit of sun though! It was pretty warm, but a nice day that got a little breezy after a while.

Even though I felt really comfortable in these kayaks, I still am almost 100% sure of the next kayak I want to purchase - the Perception Conduit 9.5. It fit me like a glove! You can read more about that here. I can't wait to get our own again, so we can go whenever and wherever we want. We should have more time to go now, since all of the wedding planning is over. :)

We were representing Ohio and the East Coast, drinking a little Yuengling that we brought back from Columbus! I wish we had it here in Illinois.

It was such a nice day, and a great way to kick off another beautiful weekend.

If the weather stays this nice all summer long, I have a feeling I may be spending way too much time outside! It's only the beginning of June, and I have plenty of color on my arms - my shoulders might be a tad burnt. ;)

Either way, it really doesn't get any better than this. You really feel like you're alone with nature when you're on the water out here.

I wish we could have gotten a little closer to some Canadian geese that were out here on one of the sandbars. I don't think I got a picture of them, but it was pretty cool to see. It was a little too shallow to get close, though.

All in all, another fun day of kayaking! We're hoping to get some new boats soon, so we'll be able to go out more often. There are many more memories to be made out on the water!

Burlington Day Trip

A couple of weeks ago, before our Columbus, Ohio trip, we made a little day trip down to the Burlington, Iowa area. Our reason for the trip was the Kayak demo day at Gladstone Lake. Gladstone is a little town on the Illinois side, just across the river from Burlington. Every year, there's a boat shop there that does a "You can paddle" day, where you can try out different kayaks and canoes and find the best one for you. We were excited to try out different kayaks, and it was a great opportunity to find our next boats.

We got kayaks last year around Trent's birthday, but ended up selling them in favor of more stable ones. Instead of jumping into getting them this time, we've been looking around and researching different models, and this time we were set on trying them first before buying.

I tried out a few different kayaks, and ended up finding the perfect one! As soon as I sat it in, I knew it was the perfect fit for me. It's the Perception Conduit 9.5. I loved this one, and am pretty sure it will be my next kayak!

I didn't buy it that day, but we've looked around a little since, and it looks like I'm probably going to have to special order it. It's not sold in a lot of stores around here, but I think I can just order it at the store, and they'll get it in for me. Trent didn't find his perfect one yet, but we're still looking. I'm hoping we can both find our new kayaks this summer. Then we can do a little boating before the summer is over.

While we were in the Burlington area, we made a few stops before heading back home. We stopped at Snake Alley in Burlington. It's a very crooked street that was built as a shortcut to get downtown several years ago!

This place brought back a few memories. We visited Snake Alley back on one of the first trips Trent and I took together, when we were first dating. That was 8 years ago! I had to do a side-by-side. :)

It's a pretty cool place, and such a unique, wind-y road to drive down if you are ever in the area!

Burlington is a river city, and there are some great sights to see in the area. The bridge is also pretty cool-looking. We stopped down by the river to take in the view.

On the drive back, we ended our trip by stopping at the Warren County Memorial Park in Monmouth, Illinois, to visit a couple of gravesites of Trent's family.

Trent's grandma on his dad's side is buried here, along with her parents. Since we've started looking further into our ancestry, we've learned more about our relatives and their stories. Even though Trent's grandma died when he was only 4 and he didn't really know her, it's nice that we're still able to visit her grave and the graves of his other family members. Trent even remembers visiting this place with his dad when he was a kid and putting flowers on their graves.

We decorated their grave markers with pink flowers. Trent's grandma was Norma June Keever. Her parents were Elva and Geraldine Coleman.

It was a perfect spring day, and a nice ending to a fun day trip.

A day full of kayaks, rivers, and making new memories! :)

Shopping Day in Peoria

We had a pretty eventful weekend, with a trivia night for charity on Friday night (we tied for second out of about 20 teams!), then shopping all day in Peoria on Saturday. We also had outstanding weather for February - sixties and sunny! That's pretty unusual here in Illinois, but I'm not complaining.

Saturday Trent and I went down to Peoria and had a big day of shopping with my parents and my sister! It started at Biaggi's for lunch, where we had some pretty delicious food.

I'm glad we shopped a lot afterwards and were able to walk it all off, because I don't even want to know how many calories, or carbs I consumed! ;)

We went to two malls afterward, Northwoods and the Shoppes at Grand Prairie. The Macy's at Northwoods is closing this spring, so one of the reasons we went was to check out the good deals. Well, it was a little picked over when we got there. One whole floor was full of just store accessories like mannequins and shelves that they were trying to clear out of the store. A little strange!

The outdoor mall is always fun though, and we had the perfect day to shop. The Shoppes at Grand Prairie has a new Homegoods that opened just after we went last year, along with a Marshall's and tons of other great stores, so I was pretty much in love. That Homegoods was pretty wonderful. I didn't end up taking much home, but it was definitely fun to look!

After the malls, we made a stop at the Bass Pro Shop Outdoor World, which was huge. There was even a seafood restaurant and bowling alley attached. 

And check out all the animal heads that were on the wall as soon as you walked in. (I think this was only half of them!) -

I can see how my dad pretty much feels at home here!

Trent and I did enjoy looking at all of the boats, though. In fact, there was an entire "Boat Center."

It was probably Trent's favorite part of the store. I couldn't pry him away from them if I tried!

Once we found the kayak section though, we started looking a little bit more "seriously." We even watched a little demonstration about fishing kayaks. Which was kind of interesting, except we probably won't be fishing in our kayaks much.

We are, however, looking for new kayaks to replace our first ones that we sold on Craigslist last year. We decided we wanted something a little more stable. We liked the Ascend sit-in kayaks we saw at the store, and the pink one in particular was my favorite. Maybe we'll get new kayaks for Trent's birthday again, since that's when we got the first ones! :)

Finally, I couldn't share photos of this day without sharing the fox bench photo. I pretty much walked right up to this scene of my sister and parents on the "fox bench" by the front of the store.

The moment was just too good not to capture.

Overall, a great winter shopping day that felt like an early spring! I'll definitely take it!

Kayaking Memories

Since we both got kayaks this spring, we've gone once so far, earlier this month. The weather hasn't been the greatest the past few weekends, and when it has been, Trent's been working overtime or we've been busy. We have gone a couple of other times in the past though, before we owned boats of our own.

Last summer, we kayaked at Lake George, in the Loud Thunder Forest Preserve. It's kind of close to where I grew up...another small town area in Illinois maybe about 45 minutes from where we live now.

 

It's pretty cheap to rent kayaks here (I think it was $8/hour), so we rented a couple and took them out for a couple of hours. We liked this lake because it was really calm, and it's super laid back around here. Not busy at all, just a few boats here and there.

It was a nice day, though I think it was in August, so it was pretty, hot too. We started out with some life jackets on, but it was so hot and the water was super calm, so we took them off for a little while. Shh!

We brought some drinks along, too. These kayaks were really nice and stable. They're Emotion kayaks, and when we bought our own this year, we definitely looked at these. They were a little bit more expensive, though, and the kind we got was actually on sale, which clenched the deal for us on the Pelican ones.

Kayaking at Lake George was my first experience with a single kayak. I was a little worried at first if I would be able to handle it on my own, but it was much easier than I thought it was going to be. To my delight, I could paddle and guide the boat on my own, directing it the way I wanted to go pretty easily.

Trent had a good time, too. Ever since we went out that time, he had been wanting a kayak even more than before! He still says he likes this kind, because of how stable they were. They were also only 8 foot kayaks, and we got 10-footers.

That experience kind of made me want our own boats, too. We had a great time that day. The one other time before this when we went kayaking together, was at Lake MacBride, near Iowa City. I don't have any photos from that experience, but I do have a couple from the beach.

Back in 2010, we were in the Iowa City area for the weekend, and decided to make a day trip down to Lake MacBride. We hung out at the beach for a while, then rented a double kayak.

The double kayak was fun, but you definitely have a little bit more freedom with the single kayaks. Lake MacBride was also a much busier area than Lake George and Lake Storey, which both felt a little more isolated and peaceful.

I'm hoping we can go out a few more times this summer with our new kayaks. I know we'll be pretty busy with the wedding and all, but there's always time for a little fun too, right?!