Behind the Scenes!
-Lauren

When you are on the water with an Outdoor Odysseys sea kayaking trip in the San Juan Islands enjoying the scenery and cuisine, it’s easy to overlook the amount of work that goes into prepping for a trip. The day before a trip, the guide(s) are hard at work shopping for food, making sure that dietary concerns are met, packing food into compartments, loading boats and gear, and checking off their checklists down to the very last spatula.

Each guide has their own style of prep depending on the kind of trip, who he/she is working with, and the number of people on the trip. For example, Magda likes to get her gear together first. She sets up tents to make sure they are working properly, gathers up her utensils, puts together a “buzz bag” full of tea, coffee, and hot chocolate, and loads life vests and spray skirts into the trailer. Nikken, on the other hand, has her food prep down to a fine art. After creating the menu for the trip, she makes a mini grocery spreadsheet that she takes shopping with her and then organizes all of the food by meal.

Even the office staff pitches in to help get ready for trips. We harvest a variety of fresh lettuce and herbs from the garden like arugula, red oakleaf, rosemary, lemon thyme and flat leaf parsley. We also have a Rainier cherry tree that is currently in prime harvest season. Soon to follow will be plums, apples, and peaches that are ripening on the tree. Growing some of our own food helps us to live up to our eco-friendly reputation and guests love our home-grown produce.
Getting ready for a trip takes a lot of “behind the scenes” effort in order to run smoothly. With a lot of hard work and attention to detail, we try to give guests the best trip possible.