On June 11 Outdoor Odysseys employees took a few hours to explore the tidepools of Ruben Tarte with Geneva Mottet, a marine invertebrates geek who served as our guide for the day. Geneva brought us some handouts with her own illustrations of local creatures we anticipated finding, and she led us through the slippery-slimy boulders of a perfect low tide. We soon discovered that there’s a lot to be found under the seaweed and cobble… Blood Stars delight me…it’s such a joy to lift up a wad of mucky green sea lettuce and find a tiny, bright red sea star!…
Jokes & Humor
A Frenchman, an Englishman, and a New Yorker were captured by a fierce Indian tribe. The chief comes to them and says, “The bad news is that now that we’ve caught you, we’re going to kill you, and then use your skins to build a kayak. The good news is that you get to choose how you die.” The Frenchman says, “I take ze poison.” The chief gives him some poison, the Frenchman says, “Vive la France!” and drinks it down. The Englishman says, “A pistol for me, please.” The chief gives him a pistol, he points it at his…
My kayak trip was amazing!
As we set out, it was great to be on the water. I was fascinated by the forest of algae underneath us in many locations of our trip. You could see so much from the kayak, including rock beaches, houses and sailboats traveling in the distance. You could not experience all this any other way! After lunch, we headed back to our original destination. Not long after launching, our orca experience started! I remember seeing a whale tail ahead of us and almost jumped out of the kayak seat in excitement. Soon, fins started to approach us. People would ask…
Jokes & Humor
While paddling off the Florida coast, a tourist capsized his kayak. He could swim, but his fear of alligators kept him clinging to the overturned craft. Spotting an old beachcomber standing on the shore, the tourist shouted “Are there any gators around here?!” “Naw” the man hollered back, “they ain’t been around for years!” Feeling safe, the tourist started swimming leisurely toward the shore. About halfway there he asked the guy “How’d you get rid of the gators?” “We didn’t do nothin’,” the beachcomber said. “The sharks got ’em.” Unknown Author
Jokes & Humor
The bartender Lars asked Ole, “Do ya know da difference between a Norvegian and a kayak?” “No, I don’t,” said Ole. “A kayak will sometimes tip,” explained Lars. Unknown Author
Jokes & Humor
Even today, the Eskimo displays very little gustatory qualm. Near Fort Chimo, Quebec, I was offered a snack of, I thought, crowberries. One taste told me the truth. They weren’t crowberries, but caribou droppings cooked in seal fat. I declined any more. The man who offered them to me shrugged and continued to pop them into his mouth like salted peanuts. – from the introduction to “A Kayak Full of Ghosts Eskimo Tales”, gathered and retold by Lawrence Milman
Jokes & Humor
Three old men are sittin’ in their kayaks fishing a cove on a quiet Sunday morning when a funeral procession drives by. One of the old men takes off his hat & puts it over his heart. The procession winds its way around the cove and disappears over a hill. The old man puts his hat back on and continues fishing. One of the other old timers says “Geeze Ed, that was a thoughtful thing to do.” Ed replies “It was the least I could do after 49 years of marriage.” Unknown Author
Behind the Scenes
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…
Food, Glorious Food!
We pride ourselves on serving quality food and pay special attention to our meals.
- Tastefully prepared lunches are served on all our tours!
- We serve bottled wines (as opposed to boxed – or none at all) as well as non-alcoholic beverages for dinner.
- We are the only company that grows some of our own organic food as well as purchasing (and supporting) produce from locally grown farmers.
- We don’t skimp on quality. We use real maple syrup, butter and good coffee – the same quality food we eat at home – why in the world would we serve our guests stuff like margarine or Aunt Jemima’s syrup on our trips?