The better-half and I finished building the new Joad (the canoe carrier) and we went canoeing yesterday for the first time in a couple of years. The Mattaponi river between Zoar and Aylett was high and brisk. We spent a lot of time just holding onto the paddles and not doing any work. The river carried us. Because it was about 80 yesterday we were in t-shirts and shorts so except for the leaves it felt like we were canoeing in May. There was a guy and his son on one of those evil jet skis–they were wearing bathing suits. There’s nothing more disgusting than having your peaceable journey interrupted by a jet ski. I don’t see the point.
We saw a couple of Great Blue Herons, a duck, tons of squirrels and heard a few owls. We’re pretty sure some turtles were out as well but we didn’t see them–only heard them slipping into the water as we went by.
We were able to eat our lunch without pulling over to the bank which is not something we usually do. But since the river was pulling us so much we really only had to make sure we didn’t get sideways while we ate our sandwiches.
There were lots of people taking advantage of the weather at the Aylett boat ramp. The fishing area was fairly populated but the parking lot was full of trucks and boat trailers. I guess folks figured fishing was a better idea than watching a game on TV. We didn’t see any power boats and we usually don’t…they tend to head towards Walkerton and the fatter water. I imagine though from Aylett to Walkerton there was plenty of water traffic. We don’t do that run very often because it takes longer and you have to pay attention to the tide or you end up exhausting yourself paddling.