LA River Rafting...Through Pictures

Not a kayak. 

River shoes.  Always be prepared.  And if you can be prepared in pink, all the better.

River shoes in action.  My goal was to keep my feet dry and preserve my pretty shoes.  Nailed it...

Friends of the LA River stop off point.  Absolutely no frogs.  Very misleading.

Spied some wildlife and crept up close to get a shot.  Also, man in a helmet.  Birds apparently not afraid of him.  He is the Bird Whisperer.

Paddle instruction.  I aced this.  Only hit two people with my paddle and hardly fell down the bank at all.  Probably get an award of some sort...

Ahhh.  How's the serenity...

When you go kayaking, always take 5 teenagers with you.  It'll be awesome (ish).

Very hard to take a selfie in a kayak.  Let's all pretend this man is me.  Except I was better.

Just your classic river graffiti...PTB - Pop The Boat? 

Everyone still intact - big improvement on 2 mins before.  They're all acting super casual for this photo, as if they weren't arse backwards a few minutes ago.

Toot toot.

Can hardly tell we're surrounded by concrete.  Also, we can't get out.

I finally saw wildlife...even if he wouldn't turn around.  White Egret.  Looks like plastic shopping bag but pretty sure it's nature.

I feel bad...

...for not writing anything and disappointing my fan. Maybe I'll just knock something out now*.

Have you ever been kayaking in the LA River? I have. So that's ten points for me and none for you. It's a pretty different experience** than any other kayaking I've done - you're basically going down a canal that's concreted and fenced on either side. This was done around 1938*** after catastrophic flooding made it necessary and now it's basically a flood control channel. That may or may not be right - I was mostly listening to the guide but as we know I'm easily distra...

Anyway, there is a whole eco system that developed and it's a pretty cool experience with a couple of rapids, 7 different types of fish (mostly carp, although as is normal when I approach, all wildlife immediately vacated the area) and some plants on the side that made a point of grabbing me every time.

So, if you come back tomorrow, fan, I'll share some pictures of some blurry things and water. It sounds so interesting and appealing. I can hardly wait.

*Done
**Well there was that one time at camp when we had to learn how to roll back up if we got trapped upside down. Technically I believe it's called an Eskimo Roll. I may have mentioned this before but this was not one of those things that I nailed. I know, I can hardly believe it either. Anyway, in a nutshell, I ended up with hypothermia and had to be driven home, vomiting and delirious. Just between me and my fan - I remember thinking I had to go to the bathroom and then thinking I was there and peeing in my sleeping bag. Pretty sure that thing just got rolled up and put back in the cupboard. I don't use that one.
***That's History, right there.  You're welcome.