Kayaking in Virginia Beach Offers Physical and Spiritual Benefits

Kayaking in Virginia Beach Offers Physical and Spiritual Benefits
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Background

As a freelance journalist with the travel newspaper “Recreation News,” I was invited to participate in a press familiarization (FAM) eco-friendly tour with the Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau. This trip took place from May 11 to 13, 2010 and included kayaking in Virginia Beach, dolphin watching trips, “green” dining out, and rooms overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

I’ve lived in Virginia Beach and surrounding cities of this region of southeastern Virginia known as Hampton Roads. I was born and raised in Hampton, a city about 40 minutes away from the famed Virginia Beach Boardwalk. I love water and was even asked to consider lifeguard training as a teenager, but as someone always at least somewhat overweight (sometimes significantly overweight) I assumed such activities were just not right for me.

Preparing for Kayaking

When I saw a kayaking trip was planned for the “green” press trip, I was somewhat nervous. As an overweight person, I don’t want to slow down a group or exhibit signs of complete exhaustion. Too many times this has led me to opt out of such trips. Yet, my “Recreation News” editor wanted a kayaking story. I researched kayaking online and found that actually, kayaking is a “weightless” activity just like water aerobics, canoeing, and similar aquatic adventures. The real challenge for anyone is using that upper arm strength. So even though the Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau staff gave us alternative options, even though I probably could have asked my “Recreation News” editor for an alternative assignment from this segment of the trip, I decided for once I was not going to sit on the deck watching everyone else go on an outdoor adventure. I too was going kayaking, and assume that all would be well.

Learning to Paddle (5 out of 5)

The morning of May 12, I, two other journalists, and Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau publicist Kari Journigan arrived at Surf & Adventure. This surfing and beach gear shop, located near Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in the Sandbridge area of Virginia Beach, offers kayaking lessons, tours, rentals, as well as other aquatic sports like surfing and stand-up paddling. After talking briefly to our guide Ross, fellow journalist Petra Myricks, and I took some brief paddling lessons and then got into our kayaks.

A Feeling of True Liberty (5 out of 5)

Stephanie Mojica, right, and fellow journalist Petra Myricks kayaking in Virginia Beach.

Once the three of us, kayaks, paddles, life jackets, and all, were on our way I rarely felt nervous or fatigued. This truly was a “weightless” experience, limited only by an especially strong wind as well as my sometimes weak upper arms. During our hour-long trek, I, Petra, and Ross saw a painted turtle reclining on a log and also some osprey. We successfully avoided poison ivy and no one fell into the water. We turned back because the especially strong wind was sometimes rendering our paddling strokes useless.

The Physical Benefits (5 out of 5)

During our trip, I asked Ross how many calories were burned while we were kayaking in Virginia Beach. He said that the Surf & Adventure staff is actually formulating some figures, but that they believe it is similar to a bike ride. The fitness magazine “Self” offers a fitness calculator at its website; a 150 pound person will burn about 357 calories during an hour of kayaking. That same workout on a stationary bike burns about 392 calories. So it may indeed be comparable. Plus, kayaking offers the advantages of getting out into the water, seeing nature, and can even be a meditative experience. Given a choice, I’d take kayaking over biking anytime. However, any exercise is better than none; so many times budgets, time crunches, and our own mental limitations forbid us from experiencing life-changing adventures on a daily or even weekly basis.

References

Self: Kayaking Calculator: https://www.self.com/calculatorsprograms/calculators/caloriesburned/kayaking

Self: Stationary Biking Calculator: https://www.self.com/calculatorsprograms/calculators/caloriesburned/stationary_biking

Surf & Adventure: Kayaking in Virginia Beach: https://www.surfandadventure.com/

Virginia Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau: https://www.vbfun.com