Paddle Faster, I Hear Banjos

Back in 2014 I dropped out of a trip to Maine and went instead to the Kiptopeke Kayak Symposium. I've been told I don't understand why I didn't go to Maine, but that aspect of things is not what we're focused on right now - what is important is that at Kiptopeke I discovered the big lodges that are available for rent at Virginia State Parks, and I immediately realized that they would be a cool place to spend some time with a group. About a year later I visited Floyd, Virginia on my way home from Nashville and was blown away by the vibrant traditional music scene there - I felt like an anthropologist who had happened across an undiscovered tribe of some sort. Since then I have been preaching the charms of Floyd (not Floydfest, that's something different). It took a few years, but eventually I managed to put together a group trip that included both staying in a Virginia state park lodge and visiting Floyd. And kayaking, of course. And there you have the backstory of this weekend - paddling faster and hearing banjos, so to speak.

Claytor Lake lodge

Hanging out at the lodge

Cooking dinner

Since Spring Break week is a popular one at the parks, I made the reservations far in advance, and so there were many changes to personnel along the way (Rob and Barb foolishly prioritized an extended sojourn in Europe over a weekend in Floyd), Yvonne and Jay foolishly prioritized the security of this great nation over Floyd, then they didn't, then they did, ... anyway, the list goes on and on. Our final group included Tall Tom & Beth, Jen & Kathy, Suzanne, Jim, Bela and Leigh, and Valerie and me. 

We all straggled in over the course of Friday. Valerie and I were first, after stops at Mr. J's Bagels in Harrisonburg (a nostalgic favorite for us from when Teddy was at JMU) and at a supermarket in Christiansburg (in the same shopping center as Tractor Supply and the Christian store - Toto, we're not in Northern Virginia anymore). Most of the group made it in time to head to the Floyd Country Store for the Friday night music and dancing. The bulk of us stayed among the crowd of spectators. Kathy, who is an unstoppable dancer, got up and attempted - with some pointers from the locals - to emulate the "flatfoot" dancing style.

Friday night at the Floyd Country Store

Saturday dawned a little grey, but the paddlers among us went out and did about a nine mile trip on the lake. The real distinctive highlight of the paddling outing was when we paddled up to a home with a "For Sale" sign - the Realtor was were having an open house, apparently not a well attended one, and so came down to the dock and offered us some of the chocolate chip cookies they had baked for the event. First and probably only time I'll ever randomly get free, fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies out on the water! We paddled away shaking our heads at how affordable lakefront real estate on Claytor Lake is compared with Northern Virginia.

Setting out to go kayaking and eat cookies

While some of us were paddling, others went into the town of Floyd and shopped - the yarn store, crafts, candy, tchotchkes, and more. All told, everyone had a good day. After a communal dinner, some of us headed back to Floyd for more music at the Wildwood Farms General Store and Daylily Farm, though the folks who had already been in Floyd begged off of making a second trip there (it's 35-40 minutes each way). The Wildwood Farms scene is very casual - even more so than the General Store. It's clearly a labor of love/vanity project on the part of the store owner and feels almost like a jam session at someone's house - in fact, the store staff and other locals get up and perform a set during the band's intermission. Saturday night music is, by their own admission not a big money-maker for Wildwood Farms. In fact, they say that overall they're just barely hanging on. I hope they find a way to make it - it's a cool, intimate scene.

Wild turkey, seen while hiking

Sunday was stormy. A group of paddlers got on the water early to beat the rain. I declined, realizing too late that it was all the guys but me going, and so I wound up trapped in a house full of girl talk until Suzanne, Jen, Kathy and I headed out for a hike on the trails within Claytor Lake park. Soon after we hit the trail the heavens opened up. Jen and Kathy turned back, but Suzanne and I soldiered on through intermittent rain and did the long loop around the park (5.74 mi by my GPS, 5.11 by Suzanne's). Sunday people started to head out - Suzanne and Jim needed to get home, and Bela and Leigh were hopping from our adventure to one with their grandchildren. So Sunday night it was down to Tom and Beth, Jen and Kathy, and Valerie and me. 

Sunday night it stormed like crazy. The wind was high enough to spin Tom's and my boats, which we had left on the grass, around like weather vanes. Tom is a last-day-load-up-and-go guy, so he and Beth were out the door early. The remaining four of us straightened up and divvied up the remaining food (yay, unsweetened almond milk!). Then we said our farewells to Claytor Lake. But have no fear, we had such a good time that while we were there we already put the next trip on the calendar - back to Chincoteague in October. Stay tuned for the next installment!