I've been on a desperate hunt for recreational kayaks and can't find anything!

The first time I ever kayaked was on my honeymoon back in 2017. My wife Katie and I spent several days in Finland, MN at a beautiful cabin on a remote lake. The cabin came with several recreational kayaks which we put to good use floating and drinking local craft beer in Northern Minnesota stillness and newly-wedded bliss. We enjoyed them so much that we agreed to look into purchasing kayaks for ourselves when we had some extra money to spare; unfortunately, our finances have always been pulled in different directions, and we're yet to pull the trigger.

We've kayaked a couple times more since then and always had a blast. Last summer while in Duluth, we booked a guided kayak trip on the St. Louis River and Spirit Lake. This year, we had an opportunity to kayak over the 4th of July (a memorable experience of its own). We enjoyed ourselves so much, I decided once and for all that it's time to get ourselves some kayaks to enjoy together.

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Not one to make hasty or uneducated decisions, I began researching kayaks to find exactly what I wanted. I scoured the internet reading up on the different types of kayaks, lengths of kayaks, quality of kayaks. I compared brands and read customer reviews. I got a good idea of what I wanted then walked confidently into my local Cabela's to make a purchase...only to find that they were sold out! There were a few kayaks left in stock, but they were much bigger, longer and more expensive than what I was looking for. I visited the Runnings store in Monticello and found the same situation there. Then the Runnings store in St. Cloud. Same story. I called Koch's Hardware & Foley Hardware stores to ask about their supply -- they said they were out of the kayaks I was interested in. Every store I visited or called told me the same thing -- whatever's currently in stock is all they have, they won't be ordering more for the year and they aren't able to order specifically for me.

I'll be honest -- I'm pretty miffed. I mean, I know COVID-19 really affected things. I know it affected stores' inventories; I know it got a lot more people outdoors; I know a lot of things that used to be widely available -- like kayaks -- sold out or became a lot harder to come by. Maybe I'm overreacting. I just want a couple recreational kayaks for my wife and I to enjoy! For the time being, I guess I'll just keep looking and asking around.

But really, help a guy out -- where can I find recreational kayaks in Central Minnesota?

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