Take Me to the River

London Eye view.

There are many unique viewpoints in London. Climbing the steps at St. Paul’s Cathedral showed me a view that I thought couldn’t be topped. I was wrong. Surprisingly, I topped that view from a much lower vantage point, a vantage point from a boat to be exact. Melissa, one of my classmates, found a company that does kayaking tours on the River Thames and asked if any of us would be interested. I have never kayaked before. There are many areas at home that are perfect for kayaking, but for some reason being on the water has always kind of scared me. I don’t have a problem with boats in general, and I really love being on the water, but being in a small kayak, with a paddle, being completely responsible for where I go was terrifying. This opportunity to kayak on the Thames was one of those once in a lifetime things that I knew I would be kicking myself for if I missed it. I am so SO happy I decided to put my fears aside and take the plunge so to speak. I don’t know that I have ever had so much fun in my life. It was challenging, as Lauren and I were in a kayak together – and neither of us have ever kayaked – but we had a blast. The payoff of our trip was the amazing views of Westminster, the Tower of London, and Big Ben. It was a perspective that you could not get anywhere else. Our guide Harry at Kayaking London was fantastic. He was hilarious, knowledgeable, and encouraging.

Lauren is badass.

The biggest lesson I learned from this experience is that even when you are scared, sometimes you can benefit from letting yourself go and getting out of your comfort zone. I also learned that I love kayaking. I really want to go again. Harry took a ton of pictures of us on the water, and Lauren kept saying I had a big stupid grin on my face in all of them. She’s absolutely right.

Beautiful views of London.