What a great weekend! I’ve been so busy the last couple of weeks that I basically forgot that I was going kayaking in the Pocono region of PA. When it finally arrived, I actually wasn’t too motivated about going because it had rained a ton recently and it was chilly out and I was also burned out from work. In fact, a couple of ladies who were supposed to go ended up bailing, but I’m a trooper and off we went at 5:30am on Saturday with three others.
This short trip was very refreshing because of the people and the fun. The organizer, Miss Tangerine did a super job of every detail and having come off of a very busy week of nighttime work functions and heavy drinking, I was incapable of thinking this weekend. She and her fiancé are a great couple and I always enjoy chillin with them, especially when we play poker because Tangerine is what we call dead money or easy money. The 3rd member of our group was a very lovely, attractive and tall Chinese gal (Miss Slim Shady) who is a newbie to NYC and her fresh perspective made the weekend conversation very fun, though she has a little bit of ADD. She was also my roommate for the weekend and we got along swimmingly.
Up until the weekend, I thought we were going whitewater rafting, but to my surprise and enjoyment, we learned to kayak which is much more fun than whitewater rafting. To find the Whitewater Challengers entrance, we traveled these small roads in the Poconos but soon as we arrived, Slim Shady and I who had been sleeping in the back awoke to a chaos of camp kids and youth groups running around in their board shorts or wet suits. It was overcast and chilly and we decided to rent wet suits. Wet suits are not flattering and quite frankly, I looked like Aquaman or a cast member from Star Trek.
We had a half day lesson on a reservoir by a great instructor, Tom. If you ever go to Whitewater Challengers in the Poconos, make sure you ask for him because the guy is passionate, extremely skilled and a fun talker which keeps the day lively. We all did fairly well and we were ready for the true test, kayaking on Sunday down the river. After our lesson, we jumped into the pool and sweated it out in the sauna. That evening we ended up having dinner at the Ugly Mug which is a popular restaurant in the area. When you walk inside, it’s decorated with neon beer signs everywhere. To the right was the bar with a lot of white people – large grizzly men sitting on bar stools -- whose eyebrows rose when they saw this rare Asian invasion. We ordered a thanksgiving feast and if you want to know why America is fat, then eat outside of NYC because our dinner portions were supersized. Sure this restaurant is nothing like a restaurant in NYC, but we enjoyed its simple qualities that included something rare in NYC, service with a smile. We went home on the verge of food coma.
Today was the real test, a 4 mile trek down the Lehigh River. We were escorted by Tom and a second instructor and we had a grand time. Each person in our party flipped over and we were saved by the bow rescue, a technique we practiced numerous times yesterday. Slim Shady did the daring and jumped onto a rock and as we all watched in horror, she calmly slid off and splashed into the water – let’s just say, it was an unplanned stunt. San Luis weaved through the rapids most of the day and Tangerine practiced the rescue a couple more times. At one point, I looked back and saw Slim Shady underwater and then when I looked ahead, Tangerine was under as well. Tom quickly rescued two ladies in a matter of seconds. The waves reached as high as level 3 and it was pure exhilaration going after and crashing into the whitewater waves. I would get rocked back and forth and be spun around with water splashing into my face and almost dislodging my contact lens a few times. Outside the excitement, when we hit spots of drifting water for rest, I looked up to the thousands of trees that blanketed the rolling hills of the Pocono region. Some of the trees were turning color which made the scenery even more beautiful. Living in NYC I’m surrounded by a concrete jungle and to escape the noise and hectic pace of the city helps recalibrate my senses and mind. Sure NYC is cool with its lounges, restaurants and clubs but it’s great to get away and get outdoors. Living in NYC has made me less inclined to leave because I can find something to do here, but having gone out and enjoyed myself made me realize that there’s a whole heck of a lot of fun past the Lincoln Tunnel.
Thanks to Tangerine, Mr. San Luis and Slim Shady for a tiring and fun weekend. I’m about to collapse now.
This short trip was very refreshing because of the people and the fun. The organizer, Miss Tangerine did a super job of every detail and having come off of a very busy week of nighttime work functions and heavy drinking, I was incapable of thinking this weekend. She and her fiancé are a great couple and I always enjoy chillin with them, especially when we play poker because Tangerine is what we call dead money or easy money. The 3rd member of our group was a very lovely, attractive and tall Chinese gal (Miss Slim Shady) who is a newbie to NYC and her fresh perspective made the weekend conversation very fun, though she has a little bit of ADD. She was also my roommate for the weekend and we got along swimmingly.
Up until the weekend, I thought we were going whitewater rafting, but to my surprise and enjoyment, we learned to kayak which is much more fun than whitewater rafting. To find the Whitewater Challengers entrance, we traveled these small roads in the Poconos but soon as we arrived, Slim Shady and I who had been sleeping in the back awoke to a chaos of camp kids and youth groups running around in their board shorts or wet suits. It was overcast and chilly and we decided to rent wet suits. Wet suits are not flattering and quite frankly, I looked like Aquaman or a cast member from Star Trek.
We had a half day lesson on a reservoir by a great instructor, Tom. If you ever go to Whitewater Challengers in the Poconos, make sure you ask for him because the guy is passionate, extremely skilled and a fun talker which keeps the day lively. We all did fairly well and we were ready for the true test, kayaking on Sunday down the river. After our lesson, we jumped into the pool and sweated it out in the sauna. That evening we ended up having dinner at the Ugly Mug which is a popular restaurant in the area. When you walk inside, it’s decorated with neon beer signs everywhere. To the right was the bar with a lot of white people – large grizzly men sitting on bar stools -- whose eyebrows rose when they saw this rare Asian invasion. We ordered a thanksgiving feast and if you want to know why America is fat, then eat outside of NYC because our dinner portions were supersized. Sure this restaurant is nothing like a restaurant in NYC, but we enjoyed its simple qualities that included something rare in NYC, service with a smile. We went home on the verge of food coma.
Today was the real test, a 4 mile trek down the Lehigh River. We were escorted by Tom and a second instructor and we had a grand time. Each person in our party flipped over and we were saved by the bow rescue, a technique we practiced numerous times yesterday. Slim Shady did the daring and jumped onto a rock and as we all watched in horror, she calmly slid off and splashed into the water – let’s just say, it was an unplanned stunt. San Luis weaved through the rapids most of the day and Tangerine practiced the rescue a couple more times. At one point, I looked back and saw Slim Shady underwater and then when I looked ahead, Tangerine was under as well. Tom quickly rescued two ladies in a matter of seconds. The waves reached as high as level 3 and it was pure exhilaration going after and crashing into the whitewater waves. I would get rocked back and forth and be spun around with water splashing into my face and almost dislodging my contact lens a few times. Outside the excitement, when we hit spots of drifting water for rest, I looked up to the thousands of trees that blanketed the rolling hills of the Pocono region. Some of the trees were turning color which made the scenery even more beautiful. Living in NYC I’m surrounded by a concrete jungle and to escape the noise and hectic pace of the city helps recalibrate my senses and mind. Sure NYC is cool with its lounges, restaurants and clubs but it’s great to get away and get outdoors. Living in NYC has made me less inclined to leave because I can find something to do here, but having gone out and enjoyed myself made me realize that there’s a whole heck of a lot of fun past the Lincoln Tunnel.
Thanks to Tangerine, Mr. San Luis and Slim Shady for a tiring and fun weekend. I’m about to collapse now.
1 comments:
The line "...Tangerine practiced the rescue a couple more times..." implies that Tangerine flipped her kayak and was rescued more than once throughout the day - when IN FACT, she only flipped that ONE time out of concern and empathy for the lovely Ms. Slim Shady. That said, NYCkorean was definitely a trooper and also a perfect gentleman throughout our kayaking adventure. I always have a great time with NYCkorean who never runs out of stories to tell and I can only wait impatiently for our next poker tournament to exact my revenge....
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