On the James
last update: 08/16 @ 10:14

Sarah, Simon and David on the James River in Richmond.

It’s like this…

We got the Pirouette Super Sport for Sarah a long ways back. It’s a much better fit for her than the historically significant Mirage I got as a high school graduation present.

But she’s moved on to her SUP and the inflatable ducky.

(And we’re thinking packrafts are in our future; see about halfway down the notes from our Seattle trip.)

So when Sarah heard from Simon’s dad, Steve (who was part of Sarah’s Clark University crowd), that Simon had gotten interested in whitewater boating over the summer, she saw an opportunity.

The boat has not been on water in years and it may work well for Simon.

So we met at Pony Pasture and gave Simon a chance to try it out.

Admittedly, it is a tight fit. But not so tight that he turned down the offer.

So our basement is one boat lighter. That boat is more likely to see future use. And Simon has a boat of his own now.

Win, win, win.

(Oh… and we accidentally snagged Simon’s water bottle — another win for us but, sadly, at Simon’s expense.)

Head clearing
last update: 11/07 @ 18:15

We’re still very much trying to process what just happened in the elections.

Time outside is a great stress relaxer.

And getting away from screens and news and having such a pretty place to focus on and pay attention to really helps reset (or at least temporarily calm) the mind.

Another crazy warm November day (yes, I do worry we’re the frogs in the pot gradually warming up), so we got the boats back out.

I’m glad to be the recipient of Sarah’s excellent photographer’s eye, but clearly my game is slipping.

As we paddled over from the Maryland Chute to the Virginia side, I liked this view of Sarah with the fall leaves behind her.

But when we came back to the Maryland side; and saw the Heron hanging out, she saw this great shot of me under the Heron’s gaze:

Closing out the month
last update: 10/31 @ 22:17

We took advantage of with warming weather and headed back to Angler’s Inn today.

The river was about 2.8; low but still a fun spot to play in.

And the fall colors are looking pretty good.

It’s been so long since it rained that the river is really clear now. And it’s great to be able to see down to the bottom.

We scared off our heron before we could get a picture.

(That’s the center chute on the right; no boats in that picture — we had the river to ourselves.)

But we saw lot of minnows cruising over and around the rocks.

And the birds really seemed to enjoy the thermal over the river today.

It was a great way to step away from the news and goings on in the world and just enjoy the river in our backyard.

We did neglect our Jack o’lantern carving duties; but it seemed like a more than fair tradeoff.

(That the Maryland chute above and to the right.)

Home Turf
last update: 10/21 @ 20:56

Blue skies and nary a cloud to be seen!

Another beautiful afternoon on the river.

This time Sarah and I stayed closer to home and enjoyed paddling Angler’s Inn to Lock 10.

We saw herons, buzzards, ducks and some really big catfish.

And Sarah took this great picture of me in the waves at Stubblefield Falls.

Another great weekday trip!

We did see more boaters putting on as we finished our shuttle. We decided those were the after work crowd.

Finally, check out the colors: it really is looking like fall. It may not be a spectacular year for leaf-peeping, but these are looking very nice in the afternoon sun.

(Short) Road Trip
last update: 10/13 @ 19:54

The weather (beautiful 80 degrees) and water level (4.75) aligned today for trip on the upper James.

It’s been decades since we’ve been on the James.

And we don’t get to Richmond as often as we used to.

Today was truly a perfect day for the trip.

We had a lot of fun.

Easy rapids (except for that one dam — I know there is a better spot to run) and perfect weather made for a very fun day.

We saw ducks, geese, at least one cormorant and, oddly, a rowed raft.

Richmond has become quite the boater haven; there were lots of folks putting on at Reedy Creek as we set shuttle. The lower James through Richmond as more significant rapids.

The Pony Pasture to Reedy Creek run is just pretty and fun rock gardens (less the one dam).

Change in the weather
last update: 08/23 @ 17:46

A few days later…

Blue skies, warmer weather.

It’s getting back towards normal August here. And Sarah and I had a lovely time on the river (on a weekday — I’ll get over that eventually).

Back on the river with Pocket
last update: 07/28 @ 20:22

Pocket was good, she asked “When should I meet you to go to the river?” Not “Should I meet you?”

(Actually, that’s how it was relayed to me. Pocket said she was less forward when talking to SZap.)

It was hot but not horribly humid.

And certainly cooler on the water.

We paddled up from Angler’s Inn to Rocky Island — I don’t recall doing that when there was so little current in the gorge. It really is pretty low.

But there are smiles on everyone’s face.

Beautiful June Day
last update: 06/01 @ 18:30

We’re thinking more of this in our future!

A lovely June day and we headed a but further upstream to Violette’s Lock.

We realized it had been year since we were there last.

Almost exactly 4 years.

It’s a pretty spot; a bit further to drive and the paddle back up the canal can seem like a lot of flatwater — but filled with turtles this time of year.

Clearly the weather was perfect for it and we had a great time!

The ducks and herons seems to be happy to today too.

We’re less sure about the snake; but it kept to itself so no problem.

Start of summer
last update: 05/26 @ 22:32

The traditional start of summer and Sarah and I were able to get out on the river.

The temperature was certianly summerish: high 80s.

But the water was still cool.

And not too low.

We had a good time at Angler’s Inn.

Both in the waves and surfing across the channel.

There were a few other folks out on the river including one paddle boarder at the Maryland chute who was clearly having a good time.

We hung out there for a bit.

Then paddled across to the Virginia side.

And generally welcomed summer for 2024.

I look forward to more afternoons like this :)

And I’m sure the Potomac won’t disappoint us.

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