Doing Lunch on Dickenson Bayou - Kayaker Style

Dateline: Saturday, January 9, 2013

It's so fun to be back where I can paddle any day I wish.   Saturday, I joined another HASK (Houston Association of Sea Kayakers) trip, this time on Dickinson Bayou.  This was to be a very social paddle as our destination was Garcia's Grill in the little Town of Dickinson on Benson Bayou. We paddled upstream from out put-in at the Highway 3 boat ramp until it was time to turn around and go back, in order to be at the restaurant by the time of our reservations.

Boats came off cars and lined up by the boat ramp

Putting the hatch covers on Linda's new kayak

Trip Leader Donna putting in

This paddle is through neighbors with huge houses on large tracks of land with a few still wild areas in between. It doesn't  get to be really wild until a ways past where we had to turn around.  Still, we enjoyed being on the water, visiting with friends, and enjoying the birds.  Herons and egrets were fishing, as was an osprey, and a pair of red-tailed hawks were courting. Lots of spotted sandpipers bobbed along rocks and logs at stream side, or flew weakly to new landings.  Black and turkey vultures circled lazily overhead. I was able to get real close to a tri-colored heron, but alas, I didn't have my camera on the correct settings to get a sharp picture of him as the wind moved and bounced my canoe around.

Bayou View

 The day was partly to mostly cloudy with soft air.  I wore my long pants, river sandals and a a Coolmax short-sleeved shirt.  When the sun went behind clouds and the breeze picked up, I could have used a layer on my arms but I could stay warm when I was paddling.

Donna with  some of the group

By the time we reached the restaurant the temperatures had risen to high sixties and we were comfortable sitting out on the deck.  We had nineteen of us for lunch when friends of one of the paddlers joined us. It made for a long, relaxing lunch.

Taking out at Garcia's Grill

Coming under the Hwy. 519 Bridge to reach the restaurant

Lunch bunch sans three

 After lunch, we had a short paddle back to the boat ramp. About half the group elected to paddle on downstream.  I am still fighting a shoulder problem and didn't want to stress it by paddling into the increasing wind, so was in the group that packed up and went home.

Getting ready to continue our paddle

Nap time, Gus?

This is not the prettiest paddle, but is close to most of us - I was only  thirty minutes away from Galveston - to make it an good place to go for fresh air and exercise on the water. In the winter, it is quiet and there are few motor boats around.  And if you are willing to paddle upstream longer, it does get wilder. However this is a place to avoid in the late spring through fall as there are lots of motor boats and jet skies on it.

My shoulder didn't get worse paddling here, and I enjoyed visiting with friends and observing the birds,  so I deemed the day a success.