LINCOLN COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18 — As summer presses on, everyone is still happy to make a splash in any body of water they can find.
Whether it's cannonballing into a pool or, in Ruth Robinson's case, busting out the kayak for a leisurely paddle to explore mother nature.
“It’s peaceful kayaking. Kentucky has so much water to enjoy. You kind of feel like you’re getting a different view of the area than you would hiking or whatnot," Robinson said.
Robinson has been working to help others take in the environment, initially driven through her work with the Girl Scouts.
"I’ve been a troop leader for almost 10 years. I loved kayaking, I loved the outdoors so I wanted to see what was required to take girl scouts kayaking. It was to be a level two kayaking instructor," Robinson said.
So Robinson took the plunge into becoming a kayak tour instructor.
Thankfully, not alone.
She's got Rainne Pauley along for the ride.
“I really hadn’t kayaked that much at all before Ruth asked if I wanted to join her just to take a skills class when all this started," Pauley said.
"I had kayaked before and I had liked it but I didn’t realize just how much fun it could be.”
This dynamic duo has used their passion to create Green Waters Paddling, dedicated to showing folks a fun time throughout Kentucky's water ways while also teaching them how to handle a situation where waters may get rocky.
We learned a lot about how we were being unsafe in our own lives on the water and a lot about what can happen to people out on the water," Robinson said.
"The more we learned, the more we wanted to help tell the average kayaker that just has the average recreational boat and goes out for fun ways they can insure they keep themselves and their families safe and enjoy a lot of fun.”
From eight year old kids to seniors in their 70's, Robinson and Pauley do their best to cater to their clients.
Ultimately hoping to build everyone's confidence as they set out on the water.
“Our largest group of clients is single women and they want to be able to get out on the water and feel safe and secure in their own boat," Pauley said.
"They want to be able to rescue themselves if they need to. I think it’s important to empower people and give them those skills.”
Shocking to anyone who meets them now, Robinson and Pauley were not near as close at the beginning of this venture.
They didn't know each that well at all in fact.
Their dedication to protecting people has led to a strong bond that won't soon be broken.
“The whole thing has been really rewarding. Ruth and I really didn’t know each other that well before we got started," Pauley said.
"We were acquaintances really and now we’re best friends. We travel together and have gone through all this training. I couldn’t have picked a better person," Robinson said.
If you want to learn more about Green Waters Paddling, click here.
