What a Weekend

Labor Day Weekend;

Despite an unexpected solo trek down to the bay, I had an amazing time. I usually prefer spending time with my friends, but plans don't always work out as you expect. So I made a list of all the things I wanted to do while I was down on the water and set off. Topping the list was getting in a really good kayak trip and an equally good bike ride. I knew I'd do one a day, because I'd be exhausted after both. I also wanted to get down to the "beach"really a nice patch of sand down on the water. I got all three in!

Saturday was kayaking. After my morning workout I headed out to a nice little place where I can rent a kayak. I set out a little bit before high tide. It's always a concern that I'll get stuck out in the mud. The tide goes out as quickly as you can blink your eye. It was a beautiful day. The water runs through reeds and marsh lands. It's awesome to be able to see the wildlife. Lots of blue herons, egrets and fish. Every once in a while a little fish would pop up out of the water and jumps sideways back in. They'd travel along with my kayak. I paddled out to the Chesepeake Bay.. it's about a 2 hour trek. I just hung out in the bay for a while. The water was nice and rocky. After sitting out a bit, I decided to start heading back in. I knew it wouldn't take as long because the water was heading back inland. By the time I started heading back in, I was ready for my kayak trip to be over. Unfortunately, the tide was not ready for me to return. I had to be really careful about where I paddled because right underneath the water would be the mud from the bay. Every once in a while, I'd put my paddle in and it would come back with a load of muck on it. I got nervous when the muck came up from only putting my paddle in an inch or so. Thankfully, my kayak wasn't very deep. I managed to get back to deeper water. After some serious paddling, I got back to shore. I couldn't avoid getting stuck as I doced the kayak. I had to pull my kayak on shore straight from the water. When I stepped out of my kayak, I stepped into about a foot of muck. Gross, but at the same time kind of fun. When it was all over I had spent about 3 hours out on the water, and gotten a pretty sweet tan, and a wicked are workout.

Sunday was. It's my 15 mile bike ride. After Saturday's workout my arms were pretty shot. I love getting out on my bike. It's even better down on the water, because there's tons of space and not many bikers or joggers or drivers. It's so quiet. I had a sweet little map which kept me on track. Unusually, my bike ride was pretty uneventful. No rocky roads, no falls and no flat tires. It was another beautiful day. I passed by a big black snake and a family of about 12 turkeys. I was thankful not to have anyone with me, because it allowed me to go at my own pace. I've been working on speeding up my biking. I'm slower than I would like to be right now. I'm averaging about 75 pedals (one push each leg equals a pedal) a minute. I stopped at a little warf, sat out on a picnic table and took my shoes, gloves and helmet off. This point marks about half of my ride. I headed back home. It's a ton of fun to be able to see the quiet little homes and well kept yards down by the bay. It's also a little strange to see abandoned homes and overgrown yards right next door. It's also really weird to see the confederate flags every so often. I actually almost fell over when I saw the first one. It seemed so out of place and so unusual. It's strange to think that it's such a different world just three hours from here. It was equally nice to get home. It was a little strange because my arms kept loosing feeling. Like the blood wasn't flowing properly, but it felt so good just to be out in nature that I didn't really mind it much.

Monday
No workout, but I did head out to the beach and finished up my book and listened to the water lapping up against the shore. Beautiful.. Absolutely beautiful!!! I can't wait to invite some people down to join me.

I'll post up a picture of the view of the bay from our backyard. I have to admit, it's hard to leave a place like that.

Of course as soon as I leave I'm in a hurry to get back. I got a speeding ticket on my way home. At least the officer was nice. He refused to call me Ms. Hoar. I loved it!! He called me Ms. Adrienne. He said his daughter and I had the same name and spelled it the same way. This must have been why he let me off easy (I still got a $100 ticket). It could have been worse though. He lowered the speed he clocked me driving. Very nice of him.

I can't wait to get back to CFOT. Bring it on Jerry!!!!