Goodbye to Rivers, Lakes, Bayous and Swamps

Natalie got a second kayak a few days before a scheduled Houston Area Sea Kayak group paddle. She wanted to go to a tracking test that day, but offered me her new boat to take on a Houston Area Sea Kayakers paddle on Dickinson Bayou.  I can paddle but not load or unload my kayak so she also got my racks on my car and loaded the boat the night before the paddle.  This is a short easy paddle that stops at a Mexican Restaurant for Lunch before finishing the last mile of the paddle.

Dickinson Bayou is one of the closest places to paddle on the mainland and I only had a short drive to the put-in.  Several paddlers were already there and several more arrived right after I did, so soon there was the usual pandemonium of getting kayaks off the vehicles and into the water.

I'm always anxious to get on the water so am usually playing around while the rest get ready.  Today I checked out how the new boat handled and took pictures of everyone getting ready.

Leader John getting ready

The last of the spider lilies getting pollinated

Leader John getting the group together

John giving us our paddling rules

John told us we would have a fast group and a slow group.  But we would all turn around in an hour and a half. I started off with the fast group, then, on the way back to the restaurant, paddled a short time with the slower group. Most of my paddling friends were at a Paddlefest in Corpus Christi, so most of the people on the paddle were new to me.  It was interesting to visit with the different people.

This is a very urban paddle to upstream of the end of our paddle

Most houses have boat slips for way bigger craft than we have

There was a lot of resting going on

It was a beautiful day and only a little warm

Enjoying the day and each other

We turned off a little side stream, paddled under a highway bridge,
and a few minutes later, arrived at the restaurant

We dragged our kayaks up to the bank

And ourselves up to the table

Natalie and her daughter. Ellen caught up with us just as we were getting our orders, and ate with us.  Then I left my camera with her and had her take a picture of her new kayak with me in it.

The last paddle of 2014

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. Because this will be my last paddle for several months until I recover from rotator cuff surgery.  When this post publishes, I'll be three days away from my last surgery of this year.  I'll have to get my right rotator cuff fixed next fall.