It's not uncommon to find people - especially here in the PNW - who deride living in Southern California. The smog, the traffic, the crowds and many other things give ammunition. But I envy people who live in socal because they have two things that are simply great: the weather (most of the time) and California Kayak Friends (www.ckf.org). The weather is pretty nice, no doubt about it. But for me the people in CKF are simply stand-outs. Let me give you just one example. Mark Sanders, whom you all know, managed to paddle 100 days last year. This is a remarkable achievement for someone who has to load his kayak onto his car and drive some miles to a put-in. I was perusing the CKF website when I noticed a story entitled "100 boats in 100 days" ( http://100boatsin100days.blogspot.com/2009/06/day-53-skuk-ndk-explorer-hv-catalina.html) by Jake Stachovak. Jake, who has access to many boats by virtue of his employment, and who was likewise impressed by Sandmarks' achievement and decided to duplicate it but making it more of a challenge in two ways. He'd paddle 100 *different* boats in 100 days. Pretty cool, huh? Jake is also a member of the Catalina Island for Lunch Bunch. You can only join if you have paddled the 22 sm to Catalina Island and back in one day. I think the lunch is optional. :P My wife and I just bought a 1972 22-foot Streamline trailer (*not* an Airstram) in almost perfect condition which I hope to use later this year to go spend some time in socal. We chose the trailer because it was so retro, a convenient size, and something we could two with a car loaded with kayaks. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to become a member of the Catalina Bunch, though. Jake's story on his blog is a great read. Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA www.nwkayaking.net *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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