How to save $1500 in one day....

Cross kayak purchase off the list.
Don’t get me wrong - the kayak trip was a lot of fun! We drove up to Rocky Gap State Park in MD last Wednesday and rented 2 kayaks. The lake there was on the small side and we decided a 1 hour rental would a good amount of time to paddle around a few times and get our feet wet so to speak. The hardest part was actually getting in and out of the kayaks. I felt a little awkward at first and felt like I was going to tip over, but it turned out they are pretty sturdy and surprisingly easy to maneuver. I enjoyed it, but we got a little bored just going up and down this little lake. I think the next time we’ll try going down a river. I would recommend a lake first for first timers like me, just to get a feel for it. We did have blisters on our thumbs, so maybe gloves would help with that.
We’re glad we did this test run before buying 2 kayaks, because after doing the math we realized we just wouldn’t go enough to justify buying the kayaks versus renting them every time. We only paid $5/hour rental, and that is probably the norm for most state parks. We stopped in at Cacapon State Park in WV on the way back and they also rent kayaks. If we decide to do a river trip, that only runs about $40 at the outfitters. So we’d have to do a lot of trips to even come close to the $700+ each to buy our own. Last year we wouldn’t have blinked an eye at that, but we’ve had to tighten our belts lately because of the sucky economy.
Wish I had pics to share, but I didn’t want the camera to fall in the water so I just didn’t bring it along.