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"Believe me, my young friend. There is nothing, absolutely nothing,
half so worth doing as simply messing around in boats." 

The Wind in the Willows

Paddling highlights of 2019 and 2020

12/23/2020

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Picture
Just a bunch of cows curious about those big colorful things on their beach.
In my last post, I promised I would also share some paddling highlights of the past two years, which didn't make it onto the blog. Here you go! Lots of photos, not much explanation...

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The life of a kayaking club secretary

12/18/2020

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Lately I've been reflecting on why I haven't felt the excitement or urge to share and track my kayaking updates here on the blog. While I haven't posted here in a while, it's not for lack of a paddling life. It's the opposite really! Most of my paddling energy and enthusiasm has been channeled into my role as secretary of Never Dry (my kayaking club)... and Henk and I bought an apartment in early 2019, which we spent the following year renovating, next to our full time jobs. It's been busy to say the least! But this morning I felt a strange sense of calm and a rekindled urge to share how things have been going lately.

I started writing this morning intending to give a brief update about fun paddling activities. Instead, it turned into the post below about my experience as secretary of a Dutch paddling club over the past 3 years.  Apparently I felt that I needed to put this on paper before I could move forward. It wouldn't feel right to only post about some individual paddling experiences, because nearly all of them occurred in the context of the story below.

It's been an incredible learning experience. I regularly find parallels between our small Rotterdam paddling community and other parts of my life where different types of people need to work together: at work, in our home owner association, and even when reading about politics. As someone who doesn't easily approach someone I don't know, this role has given me a means to get to know so many club members, both new and old. And lately, it's been particularly rewarding, and that's what I'm excited to share here.

​It feels weird to have to say this, but everything below is my own perspective/experience (not necessarily that of others involved in our club). I'm sure I'm forgetting some important details/contributions - if you're reading this and you think I should add something, please let me know :)
Picture
One example of what I've been doing that's not kayaking... Most of the rooms in our apartment used to be different shades of dark orange.

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    Welcome!

    This is a blog about exploring the outdoors (mostly by kayak), traveling, trip planning, and coastal engineering. It currently focuses on kayaking in the Netherlands and Belgium, but previous posts cover Upstate New York, California, and much more. See the Complete List of Blog Posts for a history of the site. Looking for something specific? Search the site here.

    In addition to the blog, check out the Water Nerd section, where I write about coastal engineering and hydrology. 

    ​Happy Paddling!
    ​Nena

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