July 4th Weekend

LESSONS LEARNED, July 3, 2009

It has often been said that you should learn at least one new thing each day. Well today, I learned more than one. What I learned as:

1. Three to five foot seas are much bigger when you are out in a 12 foot kayak than they appear from shore. (Think "Deadliest Catch". 125 foot ship in 30 to 50 foot seas, you do the math.)

2. "Watertight" hatch covers aren't.

3. "Dry bags" are, partially.

4. My waterproof camera really is.

5. I can still swim.

How I learned all this is quite simple, we decided to go for a kayak paddle on the Chesapeake Bay. We launched from the Chesapeake side of First Landing State Park.

This is what it looked like from the shore.............

The funny thing about the whole adventure is that when we came through the gate, the ranger suggested that we should go to 64th street to launch and I told him we wanted to launch on the Chesapeake side. Of course, he didn't mention the high seas.

Our harrowing, life threatening (according to Gail) adventure began with launching into a rather rough shore break. I helped Gail get out and then launched myself. Even before I got into the boat, waves were crashing over the top. When I did get into the boat, the cockpit was filled with water, but the scuppers took care of that in no time. We paddled out and had a ball riding over the waves, although, with the wind and current we made very little headway down the beach. We just hung out in the same area for a while and rode the waves. We just considered this to be a practice session for our planned ocean excursion. Then the real fun began.

We were just talking about going in, when the five foot part of the seas came into play. Several waves came in succession and the bow of my kayak was buried in the water. The cockpit filled and it got really sluggish. I tried to turn into the next group of waves but got caught sideways. Needless to say, I got pitched into the water. When I tried to get back in the boat it would just continue to roll toward me and could not be stopped. That is when I figured out that the "watertight" hatch wasn't. The kayak was filled with water. Each time I tried to climb back aboard, the water would shift over to that side and cause the boat to roll. Each time it rolled, it took on more water. There was no way that I was going to get back on board and paddle in, so I just started swimming and pushing the boat toward shore. (Under the watchful eyes of Gail) She didn't understand what I was trying to tell her, that the kayak was full of water. She thought I meant the cockpit, not the hull. Needless to say, she "worried" (guided) me all the way in. When we finally did reach the shore, she tried to pull my kayak up on the shore and couldn't. It was then that she understood. I pulled my kayak up on the beach, opened the hatch, and poured ten plus gallons of water out.

On a side note, Gail was kind of worried about landing her kayak in the rough conditions, but she handled it like a pro. She paddled to keep up the same speed as the incoming waves and glided to a soft and safe landing.

Looking back on the adventure, we were never in any serious danger and it was kind of fun.

Chris and Greyson, July 3rd, 2009

Courtney was in Las Vegas for a friend's birthday celebration, so Chris and Greyson were "batch-ing it" for the weekend. They came over in the afternoon and stayed for dinner (partial disaster). We had purchased a small tri-tip roast last weekend a Trader Joe's and decided to have it for dinner. Gail mentioned it to Chris and he said he had read that they were good grilled. What a mistake! It was so tough that you could hardly chew it. The beans and potato salad were great, so all was not lost.

Greyson never fails to amaze me. That kid has more energy than any two kids I have seen. He is in constant motion. About the only time he sits still is when he wants you read him a book. That only lasts for a few minutes and he is off and running again. Chris decided to wash the car and Greyson was ready and willing to help.
Hey Dad! Let me help!
(Great video should be here. Having trouble loading videos and have contacted Google)


We have several varieties of ducks that call the pond home and Greyson loves ducks. He even knows the sign for ducks and signs every time he sees them. He also signs airplane, motorcycle, please, more, all done, and several others. Then there is the universal point and "Uh" for everything else. Dad and Greyson decided to feed the ducks.

Feeding the ducks.................
(There should also be a video here)

Note: I'm going to trying uploading some videos to Picasa to see if that will work.

Kayaking, Chris and Greyson, July 4th, 2009

We went out for an early (at least for us) kayak trip to the Back Bay. We went down to the Back Bay Ranger Station and launched about 8:45. The water was calm, the winds light, and the weather was gorgeous.

The Captain leading the way.............

Hey ! Gail had the camera...............
Gorgeous scenery................
Snowy / White Egrets sitting in the tree........
School of small Bass fry...............

Spent about three hours paddling around the south end of Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, toward False Cape State Park.

After our trip, Chris and Greyson came over again. Chris washed his truck and Greyson, well he was Greyson. He wears me out.

The way I see Greyson.........

Dinner turned out better this time. Beans and potato salad again, but this time it was drumsticks marinaded in Soyaki sauce. Turned out pretty good.

July 5th, 2009

Went over to Chris' to help him install a ceiling fan in Greyson's room. Took most of the afternoon once we got started. Pretty uneventful day for the most part.

I had really hoped to spend some time working on the transition from the old computer to the new. Didn't get much done on that front, but the time was well spent on more important things.