Let me tell you a story about three kings who travel from afar guided by an unnatural light. I'm, of course, talking about the Pirate Kings of the Pirates of Georgetown paddling out to Thomas Point lighthouse. But the day didn't start with the paddling trip, and the paddling trip didn't start as the paddling trip, so let me rewind a little.
One of our PoG regulars, Jim G., owns a house down in Chincoteague. Back last year Jim hatched the idea of going down there for a spring kayak trip. He invited Tall Tom, Larry and me (the afore-mentioned kings) - and we even put a date on the calendar for it; however, as the day approached the weather forecast looked terrible - high winds and heavy rains. So, after much gnashing of teeth we decided to postpone the weekend. Since we had all already planned to take Friday off (well, Tom and I did; the other guys are retired) and Friday's weather looked good, we decided we instead would do a significant day paddle.
But wait, it was also Bike to Work Day. Normally Tom & I are early morning people, but in this case I advocated for a post-rush hour start. This allowed everyone to take care of their morning duties of dog-walking and such, and let me join in on Bike to Work Day. Yes, at 7 AM I biked to work, well actually the pit stop a block from my office where I picked up swag (t-shirt, Capital Bikeshare socks, and the expected water bottle). I then turned right around and biked back home. It's embarrassing what I'll do for a free t-shirt ... I mean, I wanted to show my support for bike-friendly activities!
After changing from kayaking to paddling clothes I headed to Annapolis. Jim and Larry are resolute regulars on Thursday nights, but the two of them have done little kayaking elsewhere. They're both sailors and have been on the Chesapeake Bay, but never by kayak.
It was indeed a beautful day - warm but not hot, little wind, calm water. We launched from Truxton Park and headed out Spa Creek, which is always fun because of the variety and number of boats and houses along the way. Fun scenery. There are always some impressive yachts around the area known as "ego alley", but rarely anything as big as the mega-yacht that was docked there on this trip. This thing towered over everything else in the harbor. And it's available for charter, for on $160,000 per week - plus expenses, of course.
Out of Spa Creek, southeast into the Severn River, head south at Tolly Point. We took a lunch break at the beach in front of the Chesapeake Conservancy. The Conservancy boasts one of the greenest buildings on the planet - LEED Platinum certified - but it's an office building and so they weren't really into having a group of mangy kayakers wandering into their building. They were very nice about it, though, and invited us to explore the outside as much as we wanted. I will note that at a nature conservancy on Bike to Work Day there was only *one* bike in the bike rack.
Anyway, from there we headed straight out to the lighthouse - about two miles southeast at that point - where we all posed for the obligatory pictures. We then made a beeline back to Tolly Point. We took another snack/bio break on the way back. As I was launching a couple of waves broke over my boat, filling it with quite a bit of water. It took me a little while to get the boat pumped out and get going, by which point the other guys were wondering what was going on. Tom came over and gently inquired if I was OK. In fact, I was feeling great. I had been nursing my water supply a little bit (note to self - go back to using the *big* Camelback) but knowing that we were close to home, at the break I drank most of my remaining water, which eased the tiredness I had been feeling on the paddle back in from the lighthouse. I guess I had been getting dehydrated, not helped by the fact that I was a little over-dressed in a full "Farmer John" wet suit on a warm day.
We made one more stop on the way back. We pulled out at Annapolis Canoe & Kayak to browse and visit Dave I., our friend who works there. Total mileage, 16.3.
Jim and Larry suggested a place called Cantler's for dinner. I was afraid that this would be one of those "Salty Seamen Crab Shack" shellfish-only kinda places where I can never find anything to eat but, to their credit, they had a variety of regular fish as well as shellfish items on the menu. I'm glad I had GPS to guide me - the place is an old neighborhood place deep into a residential neighborhood, and you have to take a lot of turns to get there. Consider it the Aunt Bella's of Annapolis. Most impressive was the group of Naval Academy plebes in their dress white uniforms eating crab and lobster. Now that takes caution!
I really wanted a beer but was tired from the day's biking and paddling exertions and so wisely, I think, stuck to iced tea. I got home and actually had to nap for 15 minutes before I even had the energy to unload my gear! I think I've got to get back into paddling shape and get used to the sun. Anyway, it was a great day with great companions.
And on Saturday I caught up on work, which wasn't so back because, as forecast, it turned out to be a rainy, yucky day.
One of our PoG regulars, Jim G., owns a house down in Chincoteague. Back last year Jim hatched the idea of going down there for a spring kayak trip. He invited Tall Tom, Larry and me (the afore-mentioned kings) - and we even put a date on the calendar for it; however, as the day approached the weather forecast looked terrible - high winds and heavy rains. So, after much gnashing of teeth we decided to postpone the weekend. Since we had all already planned to take Friday off (well, Tom and I did; the other guys are retired) and Friday's weather looked good, we decided we instead would do a significant day paddle.
But wait, it was also Bike to Work Day. Normally Tom & I are early morning people, but in this case I advocated for a post-rush hour start. This allowed everyone to take care of their morning duties of dog-walking and such, and let me join in on Bike to Work Day. Yes, at 7 AM I biked to work, well actually the pit stop a block from my office where I picked up swag (t-shirt, Capital Bikeshare socks, and the expected water bottle). I then turned right around and biked back home. It's embarrassing what I'll do for a free t-shirt ... I mean, I wanted to show my support for bike-friendly activities!
 |
| Bike to Work Pit Stop Shenanigans |
After changing from kayaking to paddling clothes I headed to Annapolis. Jim and Larry are resolute regulars on Thursday nights, but the two of them have done little kayaking elsewhere. They're both sailors and have been on the Chesapeake Bay, but never by kayak.
It was indeed a beautful day - warm but not hot, little wind, calm water. We launched from Truxton Park and headed out Spa Creek, which is always fun because of the variety and number of boats and houses along the way. Fun scenery. There are always some impressive yachts around the area known as "ego alley", but rarely anything as big as the mega-yacht that was docked there on this trip. This thing towered over everything else in the harbor. And it's available for charter, for on $160,000 per week - plus expenses, of course.
Out of Spa Creek, southeast into the Severn River, head south at Tolly Point. We took a lunch break at the beach in front of the Chesapeake Conservancy. The Conservancy boasts one of the greenest buildings on the planet - LEED Platinum certified - but it's an office building and so they weren't really into having a group of mangy kayakers wandering into their building. They were very nice about it, though, and invited us to explore the outside as much as we wanted. I will note that at a nature conservancy on Bike to Work Day there was only *one* bike in the bike rack.
Anyway, from there we headed straight out to the lighthouse - about two miles southeast at that point - where we all posed for the obligatory pictures. We then made a beeline back to Tolly Point. We took another snack/bio break on the way back. As I was launching a couple of waves broke over my boat, filling it with quite a bit of water. It took me a little while to get the boat pumped out and get going, by which point the other guys were wondering what was going on. Tom came over and gently inquired if I was OK. In fact, I was feeling great. I had been nursing my water supply a little bit (note to self - go back to using the *big* Camelback) but knowing that we were close to home, at the break I drank most of my remaining water, which eased the tiredness I had been feeling on the paddle back in from the lighthouse. I guess I had been getting dehydrated, not helped by the fact that I was a little over-dressed in a full "Farmer John" wet suit on a warm day.
 |
| At the Lighthouse |
We made one more stop on the way back. We pulled out at Annapolis Canoe & Kayak to browse and visit Dave I., our friend who works there. Total mileage, 16.3.
Jim and Larry suggested a place called Cantler's for dinner. I was afraid that this would be one of those "Salty Seamen Crab Shack" shellfish-only kinda places where I can never find anything to eat but, to their credit, they had a variety of regular fish as well as shellfish items on the menu. I'm glad I had GPS to guide me - the place is an old neighborhood place deep into a residential neighborhood, and you have to take a lot of turns to get there. Consider it the Aunt Bella's of Annapolis. Most impressive was the group of Naval Academy plebes in their dress white uniforms eating crab and lobster. Now that takes caution!
I really wanted a beer but was tired from the day's biking and paddling exertions and so wisely, I think, stuck to iced tea. I got home and actually had to nap for 15 minutes before I even had the energy to unload my gear! I think I've got to get back into paddling shape and get used to the sun. Anyway, it was a great day with great companions.
 |
| At the Lighthouse |
And on Saturday I caught up on work, which wasn't so back because, as forecast, it turned out to be a rainy, yucky day.
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