Jun 16, 2012

I went down to Mays Landing with Kate in the morning to meet her family at a camp where they rented kayaks and we took a big van over to where we were putting the kayaks in the river.

Eventually we got the kayaks on the water and paddled along. The family was paddling slow, but Kate and I paddled ahead. It was a nice trip down the Mullica River.

We stopped at a restaurant on the water where we waited for the rest of the group and had some beers. When they showed up we had sandwiches and more beers while we played horseshoes.

After hanging out for a while we got back on the river and headed out.

It was a pretty calm day on the river, but it was fun paddling. We got back to the camp where we pulled the kayaks out and gave them back. We hung out and waited for the rest of her family to get there and then we headed out. It was a nice day out.

Later, we went up to Philly with Chuck to go to The Fire to see Dinner and a Suit. We had a few beers in the bar area and watched the openers on the TV monitor.

Dinner and a Suit was great as expected. We hung out for a short time after the show and then headed back home.

Jun 11, 2012

I spent the morning editing photos, then I went to work at Lakeside in a Resource classroom. After work I played some disc golf and then went down to Laurel Lake for some Kayaking with Kate.

It was a nice day, just a little windy. And now for pictures of kayaking.

I really like the lily pads with yellow flowers on them. They create a really cool texture on the top of the water.

The only bad thing about paddling on a lake is there is nowhere to really go except from one side to the other. Especially on a small lake. Oh well. It was still fun.

Aug 24, 2011

Once Tracy and I figured out what we were doing and I picked up the truck and the kayaks we met up and put them in the water at the lake in Elmer. We immediately paddled into a tunnel of tree cover, giving us a nice, smooth, shady ride with not too much current.

We saw a lot of turtles on the trees along the river bank. It was wide most of the way through and surprisingly void of much debris or fallen trees.

Besides a few steering incidents, both Tracy and myself had no problem maneuvering through the river. I had never taken that full route before. It's definitely longer than the one we usually do, but much more forgiving as far as blocked path and difficult currents. I liked it. We had a good time and the weather was perfect.

Later I drove up to Plainsboro Preserve in Princeton to meet Joanna. The actual preserve was closed but I found a nearby park that was quiet and open. I spent some time taking long exposure shots of the power lines and stars.

After talking for quite some time I headed home to get to bed before the sun came up.

Aug 2, 2011

Since I didn't get to kayak last night, I went ahead and took a boat out on Union Lake by myself since I still had them and the truck. I paddled out toward the dam and it started to get really choppy when the wind picked up. It was a bit scary as I went over waves and the front of the kayak was going under and pouring water in on me.

I paddled back around the islands and toward where the river comes in. I was only out for about an hour. It was a nice, (mostly) peaceful trip with Brand New and Thrice on the iPod.

After I returned the truck and kayaks I went to Saladworks with Christy and then we came back to Millville and waited for Chuck to pick us up.

We went to Sea Isle and met Fiona at her hotel then went to La Costa's outside bar. Drinks are not cheap, but it has a decent atmosphere. Better than the other bars in Sea Isle.

We sat at the bar for a while and had a couple drinks until Fiona's friend Erica showed up and we went next door to get a slice of pizza and then tried to find another bar to go to. We didn't find one, but we did find a bouncer that didn't know how to do his job. He wasn't sure what number stood for July while looking at a license. That's really all the job is, how can you not know?

We took a walk down to the beach and wandered along the ocean for a while. It was beautiful weather with a nice breeze. We sat and looked at the ocean and got sandy. There were a lot of people out.

After considering infinity and our relative size compared to the ocean and the world and the planets (ok, stop) I took some photos and then we headed back to the bar.

I got some strange drink that mixed banana liqueur, Kahlua, Bailey's and a bunch of other stuff and was served frozen. It wasn't bad. It was most entertaining watching people try to get to the bathroom through a door that only opened from the inside. They just walked up to it and touched it like it would open without a handle. Not us... ahem.. We hung around for another beer or two and then made our way back to the car.

It was a long ride back, probably because I was really tired. I planned to stay up late in preparation for the long drive the next day, but that didn't work. I was so tired when I got home that I went right to sleep.

Jun 13, 2011

Back to work with the kids who keep getting worse. I had to give them their actual final this time and they were not happy about it even though I had been telling them since day one that this is when we'd be doing it. I had to send a few out, but after that most of them were pretty good. I know it's the last week of school, but come on!

I picked up the truck and kayaks after work and met Shannon at the river for some fun times. We got the boats in the water and started out with smiles all over our faces.

The current pulled us along pretty good and there were quite a few new obstacles that recent storms had put in place for us. Way more trees than there had been across the water before.

Ah, the fun times in the beginning. Taking a quick break on a log, unaware of the insanity to follow.

It may look like post-hurricane damage, but actually it's the good part of the story. Shannon capsized and went under, swimming a bit before she realized it was shallow enough to stand. I grabbed the boat and we got it to the edge of the river where I devised a way to dump it out: get it up in the tree. It worked very well and we got her back in and on our way. The rest of the trip was a bit hairy but no one went in.

We were both really hungry after the trip so we went to Kawa and got some curry and hot tea. It was all great and I ate my whole plate of food. We each had a bunch of tea also to warm up. Good times!

I went up to the park to play a few games of tennis with Christy under the lights. There were some guys next to us that made us feel even worse than we are. We got the boot from the park rangers when the park was closing and we had to run away to another place to talk.

I stopped by Westby to drop the key off on my way home and then got to bed a little late because I needed a snack. Oh well.

Jun 29, 2010

I picked up Shannon early (reeeally early if you ask her) and brought her back to Millville to kayak on the Maurice River (pronounced Moor-ihs, for anyone who might think it's pronounced Moor-ees..).

We dropped our kayaks in right by the dam, where Shannon took some time to get used to the controls and the current of the river.

We headed down the river through downtown Millville and under the walking bridge that it seems like no one ever uses. It looks much nicer from above the river level.

After we got through town and passed a dock, we took a break at the 50 buoy. We rested for a little while and then started up again. Resting always makes it seem worse when you get back into whatever you were doing.

We continued following the river, being passed by a few motorboats and passing a rower headed the opposite way. The river opened up really wide as we got farther down and we weren't sure where we would be able to get out to a road. We asked a fisherman who suggested we head back to the dock we passed since it was a long way to anything in the other direction.

We heeded his advice and headed back. We were going with the current on the way back so we didn't have to put in as much effort. That's probably for the best since we were both a little tired from fighting it up to that point. We got back to the dock and called for a ride so we could get the truck and load out. It was a fun trip but hard to believe it's the same river that Ryan and I take through Vineland.

After I took Shannon home, Katie and I went to Cherry Hill Mall to do some browsing. I'm not much of a shopper but Katie found a pair of shoes she really loved and had to have. I like them as well and they weren't too expensive. We spent about fifteen minutes at a loose leaf tea shop sampling hot and cold teas while learning about the processes by which they mix and steep the leaves to get certain flavors. All of this was of course leading to the sales pitch which we awkwardly turned down and left. The teas were delicious.. I just didn't want to spent fifty dollars on loose leaf tea today.

Instead, I spent a reasonable amount on this delicious drink, the Bahama'Rita, at Bahama Breeze outside the mall. We each got one and it lived up to Katie's hype for it. Gotta love some girlie drinks.

On the way home we stopped at Rowan to play ping pong, which was the original plan for the trip before we detoured to the mall. We played something like four games and I lost them all again.. but I sort of won one. I got to 21 first but since Katie had 20 (and I guess you have to win by 2) she came back and destroyed me again. I'll get better.

She dropped me off at Quizzo, where I met Chuck to make a two person team for this week. We did pretty well, placing third overall, even though they didn't award a prize for third this week. Damn you, Wisconsin and Missouri! Two times in the History/Geography round we were off by one when giving the number of states which border Canada and the number that begin with the letter M.

That was pretty much my night. I was pretty tired when I got back home so I didn't waste much time before trying to fall asleep.

Jun 26, 2010

I picked up lunch to go at Moe's and went to my mom's house for a while. We ate and talked for a while while she showed off her new Droid phone. I want one.

I picked up the kayaks and then met Ryan at the river. As soon as we got moving we noticed a few trees that had fallen across the river that weren't there before. They weren't blocking our way, but it foreshadowed the coming problems we'd have.

There were far more instances where we had to maneuver around and over logs. It made it difficult at times but we managed to make it through them all without tipping over. The river is only a few feet deep at the most, yet I feel it's necessary to stay in the kayak at all times.

It made the calm parts even more enjoyable in contrast. The scenery was nice as always and the heat wasn't overpowering at any point.

I'd call the trip a success and I'm looking forward to going to somewhere that gives us more of a challenge in the form of rapids rather than logs.

I went home for a while before meeting Ryan for a swim a little later. It was still humid out so it was a great night for swimming and the pool felt even better than it did in the daytime. We did laps and they seemed easier for me this time.

I had plans to go out but they were canceled so I stayed in and tried to get to sleep early.