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Super Moon Paddle



I've written before about the fact that people ask me how it is that I don't get bored paddling the same stretch water again and again (as well as my observation that I've never gotten such comments about the never-changing path I take for my morning run). The fact is that like those photo puzzles they run in the Sunday Washington Post, there's always something different. Trees flower and burst into leaf. Ducklings appear, grow into ducks, head south for the winter. It's calm, it's choppy. Interesting vintage cars appear at the marina. I bump into friends.

This week we had a singular event - a super moon. A super moon occurs when the moon is closest to the earth on its elliptical orbit and is full besides, making it appear larger than usual. A more technical term is a perigee-syzygy of the earth, moon and sun - but you knew that already, didn't you?

Super moon, super moon, I wish I could fly like super moon. This year's super moon conveniently fell on a Saturday night and my friends Tall Tom and Suzanne organized a night-time paddle. Suzanne traveled all the way from Baltimore for this excursion; apparently she does not adhere to the same rule that I do that paddling time must exceed round trip driving time. Or maybe Baltimore doesn't have a moon so she had to come see ours. Based on a recent article - by a transplanted Brooklynite, no less! - about the severity of the rodent problem in Bal'more I suspect that the city's moon may at some point have been eaten by rats.

As long as I'm digressing, I also want to take a moment for a correction. In an earlier post I referred to Tom as  "near-Yeti sized". This was simply an auto-correct error which I had failed to notice. I swear I had typed "powerfully fit". It's the computer's fault. Really.

Everything lined up perfectly for the evening: high tide, good, clear weather, light winds and of course, the moon. A group of roughly a dozen of us launched from Columbia Island, dodging powerboats at the unusually busy launch ramp. Tom asked Jen and me to take the lead; he and Suzanne would sweep. We headed upriver. The moon was up, looming large over the still-light sky. Since this was rated a beginner trip we took it slowly - at least more slowly than our typical Thursday night speed. We went up a little past Georgetown. We puzzled at a whaler that was anchored and seemingly abandoned off of Roosevelt Island.

Coming back downriver we were made giddy by sight of the moon illuminating the city, its silvery light making the river light up and shimmer. Fish jumped. The livin' was easy. Thanks to Suzanne for the below photo, which I nabbed off of Facebook without permission of its owner.



After helping everyone off the water Tom, Jen, Suzanne and I headed over to the Westover Beer Garden for a nightcap. Alas, we got there just after the kitchen closed. Suzanne is known to develop a powerfully fit personality when hungry and she had a long drive and lots of rats to battle on the way home and so Tom ran over to the nearby 7-11 and got her some pretzels. I will mention that rather than walk around to the gate in the picket fence that surrounds the beer garden Tom just casually stepped over the fence, evoking some mighty surprised looks from the less powerfully fit customers.

 
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