Chilly day on the river
last update: 04/17 @ 18:04

Sally had a friend to go visit this morning so Hank and I dropped her off and headed to Angler’s Inn. Sadly, Sarah had a conflict.

It was about 3.75 on the gauge; the water is still pretty cold (I found out with direct experience) and the air was just barely 60.

So chilly.

But look at the blue sky!

And all the trees are starting to leaf out now (some more than others).

We had to say goodbye to Hank and Sally this afternoon. They are headed back up to Hull for the spring. But we’re talking more seriously about when we could head up that way for a visit.

Hank & Sally are in town
last update: 04/16 @ 22:03

And I got to paddle with Hank before we all met up for an excellent dinner at Rice Paper. It was fun to be on river with Hank again. And great to hear that retirement is treating them well. Dinner with Carolyn, Rita, Chita, Bob, Joy, Sally and Hank was grand.

And we all enjoyed stopping by the place they are staying in while they are in town (Joy has a very convenient condo).

Bonus: Rice Paper gets huge recommendations!!!

Rope swing!!!
last update: 10/11 @ 13:32

The weather, ahead of Hurricane Delta, was cloudy but pleasant yesterday. We took the boats to the Potomac. And with the help of a rental car for shuttle, paddled Angler’s to Lock 10.

It may be the last time for the season when the rope swings seem inviting.

On this trip we passed three: The first had a big tree just underwater, close to the landing zone.

The second, seen here, was just about perfect.

By the time we got to the third, we were getting comfortable again and decided to just keep paddling.

That’s Robert’s splashdown above.

David on the left.

Sarah below.

All in all, a great way to spend an October afternoon. Good leaf watching from the river, no crowds — but there were folks on the shore and even a few other boats on that stretch.

Robert’s learning to roll!!!
last update: 09/07 @ 20:46

Miguel, who Sarah found through Potomac Paddle Sports was great. Robert had a couple rolls — not when I happened to be there, alas.

And he’s feeling better about a hard shell boat. He was saying on Saturday that he thought a hard shell would be more fun to play in the waves with. And now he’s well on his way…

More news later…
last update: 08/11 @ 10:04

… Right now, we’re enjoying being out of the heat and humidity of Alexandria. We drove up to Maine and are loving our little cove-side house and rental kayaks.

We’ve been gunkholing around the cove, marvelling at the always impressive tidal changes.

No tidal bore here but some impressive currents between islands.

And so far, Robert’s recycled boat is the winner. He thought to grab the bottles for flotation and they have served him well for the “Glass Drift One.”

“Rocky,” my entrant in the contest did not go well. I had thought the right sized rock would hold my sticks and birch bark together. I was mistaken. Or, more accurately, I didn’t have the right sized rock.

Sarah’s woven birch bark is the winner, so far, for style.

Back to the river
last update: 06/28 @ 11:08

We went back to Violette’s Lock yesterday to get out of the house, on the water, and remain socially distant.

There were some folks swimming where the rope swing used to be — note the steps up the tree. And they took this great photo. Thank you!

Sarah elected to go with a kayak for this trip because we start on the Maryland side and paddle across the river to the Virginia side above the dam and then back to the Maryland side below the rapids. A fair amount of a cross current ferry moves.

The weather was hot, but it was much cooler on the river, especially when the cool front/storm clouds blew over. We made it back home before the rains started.

The storm clouds are behind the camera for this timer picture on our way back to the Maryland side to paddle up the canal to our car.

A very nice summer outing.

Hot day on the river
last update: 07/17 @ 22:11

A bit under (I hope) at Angler’s Inn on the river.

We ran into friends from the Assateague trip there (kind of a fun circumstance).

Sarah enjoyed her SUP (sorry no photos of her this time) and Robert enjoyed his sit-on-top.

I had a good time in the canoe.

Robert took his boat up a couple times to run the Maryland chute.

The first time, he was a little bit river right, but got over in time.

The second time, he had a better line but, as with the first time, was leaning back going into the hydraulic. So he back endered the first two times.

The third time, he had a good line, leaned forward and was shocked to get through the hydraulic so he stopped paddling and was flipped sideways.

It was hot enough that the water felt really good to swim in, and he’s doing well with his self-rescue skills.

July 4th Beach Trip
last update: 07/09 @ 14:55

But this year the heat got to us and we left early. It was just too hard to sleep with the temperature staying as high as it was.

On our way home Friday, we passed a time/temperature sign saying it was an even 100 degrees. While the beach may have been cooler, it was not a whole lot cooler.

That’s our pair of tents in the foreground — note the lack of air conditioning.

We do enjoy the company and the waves, though.

And the sand, did I mention we enjoy the sand too? Best place for building castles.

This year, Robert was digging on the beach and stumbled onto this cache of soldiers. They were in pretty good shape so we don’t think they’ve been around too long.

They quickly turned the castles into forts.

But as is often the case, the water eventually overtakes the sand castle/fort.

Then there is nothing left to do but get out into the water…

Outer Banks Trip
last update: 09/05 @ 22:37

Summer may be winding down …
last update: 08/16 @ 20:41

Robert is enjoying his sit-a-top and not having to worry about flipping.

The weather was beautiful.

The water could be higher, but then it would be pushier and less fun.

And finding your own island is always fun.

And taking a digestion break now and again on our more familiar islands.

I’ve been meaning to try to get a shot of one of these snakes that we tend see every so often. I tend to agree with what I’ve been told: its a northern water snake.

Newest Edition to the Fleet
last update: 08/09 @ 21:36

Sarah got the skinny and we picked one up yesterday. It’s a lot less scary for Robert (at least until he has a little more sprayskirt popping uppper body strength an maybe a roll.

And, it’s just plain a lot of fun.

I’m sure we’ve never before hung around Maryland chute as long as we did today.

It was great fun. Unfortunately, the 130 pound limit seems not too conservative as it sank when I tried it out.

And by the way, it’s stable enough to serve as a stand up paddle board — at least for Robert.

On the Potomac with Eleanor
last update: 06/07 @ 21:34

Robert started in his kayak, but he graciously let Eleanor paddle some of the flat bits.

And she was happy to paddle the last flat stretch to the take out (when Robert was feigning being tired).

It was such a great day, there were many folks with the same idea of playing in the waterfall.

There must have been someone in trouble on the river because we were buzzed several times by the Park Service helicopter.

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