Here at RAF Alconbury (RAFA) we’re super blessed to have a great Outdoor Recreation office that offers several things for us to do. For not much money we can do anything from weekend trips like white water rafting, hiking on Hadrian’s Wall, and exploring North Wales to day/evening excursions like rock climbing, indoor climbing, archery or kayaking/canoeing. Along with our new friends, Courtney and Kyle, we decided to try an evening of kayaking for our first excursion. For $15 a kayak, we couldn’t pass up the great opportunity. Tim and I chose to do single kayaks because they are so much easier to maneuver.

On a cloudy, chilly Tuesday evening we met with our guides at the outdoor rec building on RAFA. They fit us with lifejackets and blessedly warm waterproof jackets. Getting to the river was only a short 15 or 20 minute drive and we were surprised to realize the river was so close to the base.

We spent a nice hour kayaking down the river with some amazing views. In addition to the beautiful green natural scenery, we floated by some old houseboats that reminded me of Pinocchio, some amazing houses and one that could be amazing if we could afford to flip it. We paddled under some amazingly old bridges and waved to kids on the walkways above us. Further on we took an offshoot of the river that let us into some beautiful, lush areas where we encountered so many ducks including an adorable pile of baby ducklings! Even though it was chilly outside, the paddling and the waterproof jackets kept us pretty toasty warm. By the end I was even actually pretty hot.

Look at these house boats! They remind me of Pinoccio! Photo by Courtney Smith

Pile of ducklings! Photo by Courtney Smith

Ducks coming to join us! Photo by Courtney Smith

We could never kayak under bridges like this in California!

If you know Tim and I, you know we’re not terribly outdoors-y people but I’m so excited to try some of the other things offered by outdoor rec. Who knows, by the time we return to the states, maybe I’ll be a true outdoors-y girl. 😀

If you’re here at RAFA, make sure you check out what they have to offer at Outdoor Rec because it’s truly so affordable and amazing to be offered these options. They offer kayaking every other Tuesday and we can’t wait to go again. Maybe we’ll see you there!