Seattle Flickrites Kayakapalooza! August 18, 2007

The Seattle Flickrites, almost certainly the best group of social photography nuts in the Pacific Northwest, is a 600-member meetup group for photography enthusiasts. Formed in 2005, we are one of the largest photography-oriented social groups in the world.

Each month we host multiple social events: a family-friendly photostroll on the third Saturday of each month, an adult-oriented drink night the last Thursday of each month, and numerous member-sponsored events and an occasional class during the month.

Membership is open to any photography enthusiast in the Northwest. We are a very loose, fun, and extremely social group, with ages ranging from 13 to 70. You'll find the experts, the beginners, the wild and the shy in our group, which has been described as "very welcoming". We have no pretention...the idea is to meet people and have fun!

This month, we're doing something a little different...more of an activity than a stroll. In fact, you may not want to bring your camera at all. Think of it as a Flickrites Group Fun Day, with water.

We will be meeting at 8:30am on Saturday, August 18, at Agua Verde Paddle Club, at the north end of Lake Union in the U-District, for a private Flickrites kayak outing on Lake Union. Agua Verde will be opening up the Paddle Club early, just for us (!), for two hours of paddling around Lake Union. Upon returning, we will have brunch at the Cafe at 11am.

A WORD OF WARNING: I've kayaked with my Canon Digital Rebel before (emphasis on "digital"), and taken it out with a waterproof bag. It survived but let's say I may have been just a little tense about the whole keeping-my-baby-dry thing. My advice to you is to take a camera that you won't mind going in the lake...perhaps an old film camera. Or if you're a SuperNerd like myself, and have a waterproof housing for your expensive piece of electronics, that would work well too!

There is a waterproof compartment in each kayak. However, opening and closing it while bobbing around like a cork? Just a little nerve-wracking. FYI!

SO HERE'S THE DISCLAIMER: The Seattle Flickrites, being a casual social group and all, ASSUMES YOU WILL BE 100%, TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY RESPONSIBLE for the well-being and happiness of your personal gear. If it goes in the lake, it's ALL ON YOU, BABY!

Our recommended gear list:
- Camera that you won't cry about
- ZipLoc or some other kind of waterproof bag
- Bathing suit
- Your bright, sunny, crazy Flickrite personality
- Some cash for brunch

IF KAYAKING AIN'T YOUR THANG: meet us over at GasWorks Park around 9:15-9:30am. We'll paddle ourselves over to you. Hah, you may manage to stay dry! Stroll the Park and then head back to Agua Verde to hang out with the kayakers for brunch at 11.

This will be a way fun meetup! If we maintain our relatively good weather karma, it'll be nice and warm for our little kayakapalooza.

RATES: Agua Verde rents single, double and triple kayaks. There are limited numbers of each, so first come, first served. Here are the details:

Single Kayak: $15/hour x 2 hours = $30 for the outing
Double Kayak: $18/hour x 2 hours = $18/person
3-Person Kayak: $20/hour x 2 hours = $13.50ish/person

These rates are not 100% confirmed. Agua Verde can confirm on Wednesday, 8/15. For more details, go to our official event page at http://flickrfan.meetup.com/11/calendar/6059816/

RSVP ON MEETUP.COM BY WEDNESDAY IF AT ALL POSSIBLE. It's super nice of Agua Verde to throw this private kayaking/eating experience for us. They will have staff on hand way early just for us, and so we ask that you RSVP by this Wednesday if at all possible. If you can't, it shouldn't be a big problem, but it'd be courteous of us to let Agua Verde know what to expect so they can staff for us. Cool?

See you all early, this Saturday, at 8:30am!

- Eric Weaver, organizer
Seattle Flickrites
Group Photos: http://www.flickr.com/groups/seattlemeetups/
Group Membership: http://flickrfan.meetup.com/11/

Official Website: http://flickrfan.meetup.com/11/calendar/6059816/