Across America- East Coast to Canada

Its road trip time again! Only this year, a few things are a little different. Last year I drove out west on a purely paddling mission with some of the Demshitz crew- and had an amazing time. This year, I decided to head back out west in the interim between seasons, but add a little extra flavor to the trip.

My roommate Lisa and I had been planning our own epic route across America- with a few strategic stops for fun. We cleaned up and left our appartment in Killington - but not without adding another friend to our road trip crew.

Our friend Bruce came over to say goodbye, and we managed to convince him to join the trip instead. An hour later, we had booked him a flight, checked the Canadian customs website and sent him home with a packing list.

Lisa and Bruce right after Bruce decided to book his flight. Note how shocked he looks, and how excited Lisa looks!

We left Killington to head up to Lisa's home of Bath, ME to get organized and stop by the Maine coast.

We had a chilly toe dip in the Atlantic at Reid State Park- A beautiful coastal state park in southern Maine- before packing up the car and beginning the drive.

Lisa and Bruce brave the water

Anna fits in some yoga at the coast

We managed to somehow squeeze skis, snowboards, climbing shoes and kayak kit all in my subaru- not to mention some filet, twice baked potatoes and champagne, along with delicious turkey sandwiches thanks to Lisa's parents.

A small detour to Ottawa, Canada was in order to watch the premier of Dream Result, a film by Rush Sturges and Tyler Bradt. ( www.dreamresultmovie.com ) The film looks amazing, from what I saw in the bar- I was a little more concerned on getting to catch up with old friends from around the world.

We rolled out of Ottawa a little worse for the wear and decided to forgo our planned stop in Chicago- deciding instead to bust out a 30 hour nonstop drive to Colorado Springs to meet up with friends of Bruce.

The drive was Epic- thank god for Red Bull, Snuggies and 80's music- well needed on the 3 am stretch of the trip. You haven't had a true 80's rock out session until it is in the car after 20+ hours, at 4 am somewhere in Iowa.

Bruce drove through the worst of the flatlands while Lisa and I stayed entertained with the help of some on the road Mimosas.

After what seemed like forever- (that John Denver is full of shit!) we finally make it to the front range- where we were treated to a comfy bed and a delicious dinner.

The plan is spending a day or 2 here to regroup before continuing on our merry way through Colorado, Utah and California!

Emily Parker

Emily Parker, a UK paddler, tragically lost her life on April 6th in a paddling accident in Scotland.

I was fortunate enough to coach Emily a few days on the Nile during her 3 week stay and was impressed by her enthusiasm, as well as her desire to improve and push her limits. She was incredibly positive and determined to make the most of her time on the Nile, both on and off the river.

Emily getting coaching at Superhole with LiLi coach and founder Sam Ward.

I received this in an email this morning : "Her funeral was today, was obviously very sad but there was a huge turnout and it was clear how many lives she'd touched and showed how close the (UK/uni) paddling community is."

to show your support, go here:

http://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=62492

My sincere condolences go out to the entire UK paddling community, as well as any other friends and family of Emily's.

Canoe and Kayak NZ

NZ Kayak Magazine used one of my photos from the Himalayan River Girls trip on their cover of issue 52 !

There were a few more photos of mine inside in the article, and a great write up on the trip, including where the girls are now.

Pretty exciting! Here is the the cover... and here is the link to view the issue, with the complete article inside.

http://www.canoeandkayak.co.nz/Kayak+Magazine.html#52

Revival

After a lengthy hiatus, i've decided to give this guy another go. Its funny to sit back down and try and get in the blogging mindset. Thanks to google analytics ( www.google.com/analytics ) I have realized there are a few that still check this blog... So...

To do a quick wrap up, here is how 2009 finished off, and 2010 started off. I spent another 6 months in Uganda, working for Kayak the Nile (www.kayakthenile.com). We had an amazing season, and surprisingly, stayed a bit busy.

KTN's new vehicles- loaded up with boats!

I picked up more responsibility as Jared headed home to Canada for the first time in a few years- and Jamie ran around the world to different trade shows, and weddings, while of course attempting to plan his own!

I effectively ran KTN in Jared and Jamie's absence, and had a great time doing it- although it meant less time on the water. It was an awesome experience that helped prepare me for the winter season- though i didn't know it at the time.

Highlights of the 2009 season in Uganda would be the infiltration of NRE with Kiwis- my friend Josh Neilson (filmaker/ kayaker from NZ) came out for another stint- which proved to be great fun - and it meant that we spent the greater part of October 2008- October 2009 together- with two months in Nepal, 2 weeks in Colorado, and 3 months in Uganda. Josh spent much of his time in Uganda filming for his next film- REALM, check out his blog for information www.whitewater-koa.blogspot.com

Josh and Ben collecting footage... check out the Hump at low water!

This is what i love about the whitewater scene- that you get to meet new people, and then you see them all over the world!

Josh wasn't the only Kiwi- There were several returning and new faces in the crowd- Kiwi and otherwise.

Other Highlights would be the attempted River Festival. In past years, Jamie and KTN, along with NRE and the Nile Breweries have put on anything from a 3-5 day festival, including down river and freestyle kayak events- with loads of partying- and boaters from all over the world. This years festival was much tamer- though we still saw an influx of boaters arriving from all over the world for it! There was no official competition, just a low key river trip down the day 2 stretch which led to plenty of carnage! Rafts flipped, beers were lost, more beers were drunk, new friends were made.

One of the trucks loaded up for the festival

Morgan and I re-united and having fun at the festival!

One of the highlights for the KTN season was the 5 day course we put on for the Kampala International School- one of the Ugandan private schools. Over the course of 5 days we taught 30 kids how to kayak- starting them in the pool, and eventually taking them down the day 2 stretch. It was tons of fun, and everyone enjoyed it! Quite hectic for a few days though- trying to find 30 kayaks and 30 sets of kit to fit 11-18 year old kids in varying sizes proved to be a challenge, but everything worked out spectacularly.

working on rolling

I flew home in in December for my cousin Jesse's wedding. It was a beautiful event, and a great opportunity to see the family.

Chilling with some of the cousins- all grown up and all dressed up!

The wedding was in Cancun- I was so sad that I wasn't able to bring a Kayak to get to explore some of Mexico's legendary whitewater. Jesse and Lior were married at sunset next to the beach- pretty spectacular.

On the plane ride home from Mexico, my grandmother, Rita, suffered a small stroke and a minor heart attack. It made for quite the exciting plane ride home- we got to emergency land the plane and bypass customs as we jumped into an ambulance to high-tail it to the hospital.

Unfortunately, Rita ended up passing away 2 weeks later. A New Years day funeral meant more family time- reminiscent of a bad movie title.. A wedding and a funeral in 2 weeks! Still- I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to get to know my family, especially cousins, better.

Clowning around with an ancient polaroid camera after Rita's funeral.

Rita was an amazing woman, and I am incredibly lucky to have had her in my life for as long as I did.

Rita and I in the Cancun airport, just before our flight back to New York

After the funeral I returned to Killington Vermont to work for another season- managing a ski shop right off the access road to the mountain. Its been a hectic season so far- I'll be sure to keep updating on winter antics, and even more exciting- upcoming spring fun!