Paddle For The Border - Part 2

Had to cut the first part short (see Below).

The route followed the Great Dismal Swamp Canal, which parallels Rte. 17, from the Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center in South Mills, NC to the Dismal Swamp Boat Ramp in Chesapeake, VA, a total of 7.5 miles. It was a rather long distance for the first paddle of the year, especially since once you start you either have to finish or return to the start. There is really no place to stop and remove the boat from the water.

The first landmark is the Mile Post 28 post just up from the launch. That allows you to count down (27, 26, 25, etc.) so you know how much punishment is left. Took our first break at mile post 25. The Captain was tiring. After a short rest and a Coke, it was back to paddling. Just north of MP 25 is the state line.


Around MP 22, we both were starting to feel the burn, so another short break was in order. then the paddle to the finish. Really pretty uneventful.

Again, this was a very well organized event. All the volunteers and the people we met / talked with were very friendly. What more could you ask for? Good people, good fun, good weather, and a good time had by all.

WooooHoooo It's Kayak Time Again

First, let me apologize for not posting in awhile. Since the wedding, things have been kind of busy, with transitioning into maintenance and Gail being at home. Still havn't really gone through the 600 plus photos from that event.

It seems that it has been a real long time since we had the VBK His and VBK Hers on the water. Back in February, during some really cold weather, we saw a newspaper article about an event put on by Chesapeake Parks and Recreation. It's called the Paddle for the Border and attracts paddlers from far and wide. Usually 200 to 300 people sign up. We figured "What the hell" and signed up. During the cold spell we we dreaming of good weather and time on the water. Well, this was the day.

The paddle starts at the Dismal Swamp State Park (actually the North Carolina Tourist Information Center, as well) on Rte. 17 just north of South Mills, NC, and ends at great Dismal Swamp Boat Ramp on the Dismal Swamp Trail at Ballahack Road. Total distance 7.5 miles.

Before any details of the trip, just let me say that this was probably one of the best organized events we have ever attended. EVERYTHING ran as smooth as silk. Although there were a lot of people, there were more than enough volunteers to help unload and launch your boat. After dropping off the boats, you had to drive up to the parking area near the finish, then ride the shuttle bus back to the launch area. They provided breakfast (muffins or egg/sausage sandwich), and lunch (potato salad, beans, apple cookies and a grilled chicken sandwich). In addition, each paddler received a hat and t-shirt. Everyone was friendly, pleasant, and more than willing to provide whatever you needed. Also, the Chesapeake Police Dept. and Fire Dept and the Chesapeake Parks and Recreation Dept. patrolled the waterway providing water and assistance as needed. Great job to all the people involved with making this a great experience. We'll definitely be attending again.

Now the trip. We launched about 8:30. The weather could not have been better. When we left at 6:30 AM, the temp was in the mid-sixties with gentle breezes. At launch time, the temp had risen to the mid-seventies (perfect). Before the end of the paddle, the temp had risen to the low-to-mid eighties.

The Captain checking to see if I can keep up.....
What a trooper....

Happy Happy.........

Quite a few paddlers.....
That's it for now. Got to try and catch Beth's finish of Ironman St George. Should be coming in shortly.

It's That Time of Year

I guess Fall is here, at least the trees seem to think so!


This is a tree I see every day at work. I have watched the leaves change, but......

TODAY IT WAS NEAR 80 DEGREES!!! GUESS WHAT WE DID. That's right, we went kayaking. A couple of weeks ago, the contractor mowed all the reeds along the Davinci Canal, so..... we decided to head out. We got up late, around 8:30 and took our time. Before we got ready, Chris stopped by to return some tools he had borrowed, so we hung out and BS'd for awhile. He went out surfing this morning but it was really messy. High winds turned it to mush. I talked him into helping move the treadmill from the garage to our bedroom, so maybe it will get some use.

Back to kayaking. The wind was coming up and we almost decided to scrub the mission, but said screw it and headed out. Glad we did. Our trip down the canal was great. Fall is having its effect on the trees there and some of the surface is covered with leaves. Really quite beautiful.

My usual view, bringing up the rear.............
Once I did get in front, this was the view.........

We paddled all the way to Lake Tecumsah again. This time we were prepared, we had fishing gear. I had a pretty good time, but the "Captain" got skunked. One of the few times that I caught more than her. I got seven small bluegill. I threw them all back, too small for a meal.

Here's one..............
One other reason for going was to try out the helmet cam. Gail thinks it looks kind of dumb. I might just have to agree with her.

I will have to make some adjustments to the mounting. It is aimed a little high. Got to be ready for Cabo.

Gail in full fishing mode................

The clouds started to roll in between two and three, so we decided to head back. It wasn't too bad, but around here the weather can go from partly cloudy to thunder storms in a matter of minutes.


All in all a great day. Our little kayak trips are the best stress relief in the world, so peaceful and quiet. Hopefully we will have a few more opportunities to go out before winter rears its head.

Labor Day Weekend

SATURDAY - SEPTEMBER 5, 2009

We awoke to a beautiful morning on Saturday. We decided to load up the kayaks and head out. Since the Rock and Roll Half Marathon and Labor Day crowd would create a traffic nightmare to the north, we decided to head south, back to Horn Point and the Back Bay. Gail wanted to try some fishing, but only wanted to take one pole and no fishing gear. Space management in a kayak can be a difficult task. So, I packed up both ultra-lite rigs and off we went.

Horn point launch point from the first duck blind we fished..........
My Captain fishing duck blind #1..........................
A closer shot.................
Hooray, first fish of the day, after just fifteen minutes....Check out the smile......
A better shot of the fish...a hand sized bluegill..............
As I mentioned earlier, we only took one pole each and no extra gear. The first bite I got bent the pole over and as I tried to land it, the line snapped. No replacement hook. My day was over.

After about twenty minutes without a nibble, we moved to another duck blind.

My turn to fish.....with Gail's pole........
Another bluegill...................
After I caught one, I gave the pole back to Gail. She hooked one right away, but just like my first hook up, her line snapped also. It was weird. Both lines snapped just where the hook was attached to the line. I guess whatever we hooked had some sharp teeth.

With no more fishing to do, we decided to just go for a paddle. We headed up Hells Point Creek Creek, toward Lake Tecumsah. We didn't really intend to go all the way to Lake Tecumsah, but that is where we ended up.

Near the start of our journey.............
Heading up Hells Point Creek..............
We paddled past Indian Cove Resort, under Sandbridge Road, past Hells Point Golf Club, into Ashville Creek, all the way to Lake Tecumsah. I would estimate the distance at right around four miles. So, considering the approximately 2 miles of paddling we did prior to heading up Hells Point Creek and the return trip, we put in a solid ten miles plus of paddling. I guess we did the major portion of eight miles in about three hours.

The golf cart bridge at Hells Point Golf Club.....about half way...........
The entrance to Lake Tecumsah.............A view of the lake...................
My trooper on the way back......beat but paddling on............
On the way home, we plotted our plan of attack for the next day. I gathered up ALL the fishing gear, we went out and got a supply of snelled hooks, picked up some red worms and meal worms, and checked and re-checked our equipment. We were ready............

Sunday, September 6, 2009

We slept in a little, but were up and on our way fairly early. When we arrived at Horn Point, we were greeted with some rather strong winds and about a one foot chop on the Back Bay. Not the most ideal conditions, but we were ready to catch some fish. We paddled out to the second duck blind we had fished the previous day. Between the chop and wind, sitting tied up to the duck blind was pretty miserable. Gail got broke off again. I had two fish follow my bait to the surface but didn't bite, and then I got broke off. Considering that we were getting beat up by the weather and there was little success, we decided to move into a more wind protected area to fish. Unfortunately, we had little luck. All I hooked was a two inch menhadden. Not worth the effort. When I turned to check on Gail, she was nowhere to be seen. I started to paddle over to where I had last seen her when I noticed a kayaker way out at one of the duck blinds. Guess who? We had left the walkie talkies in the truck since we would be fishing so close together. Never again!

Earlier, The Captain working the reeds along the shore............
A closer view of my fisherwoman...............
As I reached Gail, she had just caught a small bluegill. We decided that we would head in, since the only place we caught fish was out in the wind and chop. So we threw him back and headed home. Two weary kayak anglers.....................

Monday, September 7, 2009 - An afternoon with Greyson

About noon, we went over to pick up Greyson for the afternoon. We brought him home, had lunch and he crashed. Right after I finished cleaning him up, he climbed into my lap, leaned over and fell fast asleep.

The "G" man fast asleep....................
I had to start dinner so I put him in the big chair and he continued his nap.........

Greyson just loves the dogs, especially Peanut. He hugs Lobo, Ozzie and Peanut. The only one who doesn't really want any attention is Nugget. She just doesn't like kids. Lobo is so mellow with him. He lets Greyson hug him and even chases his toys when Greyson throws them. "G" chases Peanut all over the house, but she is still quicker than him.

All and all, a busy weekend. Tomorrow it's back to work for me, but Gail has a "spa-day" she got as a birthday present from Chris, Courtney and Greyson. After that, she will be watching Greyson. Should be a fun day all around.

Skunked Again !

Chris and I tried our hand at fishing once again. This time we went to Rudee Inlet. The tide was high and the fishing was not very good. Chris managed to catch one small one, and all I was able to mange was two Blue Crabs (good sized) almost in the boat. All and all just a good morning paddle, with some casting and drifting thrown in for good measure. I've definitely got to crack the code for catching some fish.

Chris just crusin'....................
Government marina at the end of Lake Rudee............
Chris working a weedy point................

Later that afternoon, Chris, Courtney and Greyson came over just to hang out. Good Day!

Rudee Inlet ! Finally!

We finally got to go kayaking this weekend. I got up early to surfing with Chris, but it wasn't even worth getting wet, so we came home. When we got back, Gail was up and we sat around BS'ing for a while, then Chris left. On the way back from the beach, I noticed that there were actually some parking places at Owl Creek. Usually the area for parking cars, without trailers, is full, but not Saturday. Maybe is was the threat of rain and/or thunderstorms that kept people away. Anyway, we have been wanting to go for a kayak paddle around Rudee Inlet / Lake Rudee for quite some time. Finally we got our chance.

The launch site..................
One of the channels we explored............
Check out the "webs" in this tree.............
As usual, the Captain leads the way.......
Backside of the Virginia Marine Science Museum. You can see the observation platform in the trees.....
We had some entertainment as we paddled. If you look closely, you can see the "mussel fountains" as they strain the water, and squirt it back out. All we needed was music, even though the birds were singing in the background. Pretty cool.


After cruising around the back end of Lake Rudee, we headed out toward the inlet, past the marinas, to the General Booth / Pacific Avenue Bridge.

Cruising back past one of the private marinas...............
One last video. Its not too good, but it shows the Captain paddling along.


It was a pretty decent paddle, but not as big a water as we thought. We paddled the entire area in less than two hours. The fishing is supposed to be pretty good, so next weekend Chris and I are going to give it a try. Gail has a "Girls" party to go to, so I will need a baby sitter.

Last Video

This is one video of the carp "nesting" from our June 7th trip to the Back Bay National wildlife Refuge.

Carp........


Apparently you can't upload more than one large video file per blog post, at least that's the way it seems. Check out the other videos at Pictures

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.