Rocket & Me

First Paddle in the New Kayak

I had a message from Ed last night, asking if I wanted to join the boys in a kayak trip up Lofton Creek in Yulee, FL.

Because I have my new-to-me kayak, I said yes quickly.

I got up early this morning to make sure I had everything prepared for the trip.

Then got the Kayak out of the office garage, drove over to Ed's to meet him and Bud for the 30 mile drive to the boat ramp.

Once in the water, I could see that my boat, a Eddyline Equinox 14' kayak, was a good one.

It glides so smoothly and tracks straight. It was easy to paddle, had plenty of room, a comfortable seat and simply felt right.

It was a humid Florida morning, but the creek was narrow with plenty of trees for shade.

The water was calm and relaxed.

What a great way to spend the morning.

I am looking forward to many paddles with these guys in the future.

Bill

Heading out from the boat ramp.

Ed paddling with a tree overhead. Florida creeks are short and get quite narrow as you paddle upstream.

Charlie in a narrow spot.


Heading back to the boat ramp. It was an almost seven mile paddle.

looks awesome
happy the chosen kayak turned out to be a good one for you

I'm guessing your feet operate the rudder?

Mine is rudderless.

I steer with the paddle.

We made it to Maggie Valley. While the town is nothing special, the area is beautiful.

My new Harbor Freight motorcycle carrier performed perfectly, even holding Vanessa firmly in place over some very bumpy highways.

The truck was fine too, but I had to run it in third gear on some of the highway uphill sections.

I took a solo ride in the early evening. It was cold. After 95 degrees in Jacksonville yesterday, it was a great relief.

Bill

Have a great safe ride. Sorry to miss this. Ride safe

how cold was it?
beautiful pictures, by the way
such a pretty part of the country

Great pics and cool weather sounds fantastic right about now. Do you ever have issues with Vanessa being carbureted while running up at higher elevations?

I have run Rocket and Vanessa as high as 12,000 feet in Colorado, Wyoming and Montana.

They lose power as they go higher.

The only altitude related issue I have had was that Rocket failed to start once in a parking garage in Vail.

It took taking it outside and removing the air filter, but it finally started.

We are only running 3000 to 6000 feet here. Piece of cake.

Bill

Not particularly, I think my car said 73f

Sarah and I took a ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway today. In the ride, the thermometer on Max got as low as 62.

Sarah did well on her first mountain ride.

priceless pictures and memories
I'm so thrilled she did well
not that either of us has a doubt

A few photos from today’s ride from Maggie Valley.

Dan’s Beer:

I traded texts with @Dan V. before heading north.

Dan had offered beer to me last year, so I said I would bring beer this year.

I did, but Dan did too.

He brought several Michigan IPAs.

All of them were quite good.

Thank you, Dan.

Bill


My favorite of the bunch.

Dan’s Beautiful Book

When @Dan V. and I spoke before heading to Maggie Valley, he told me that he had a book about Millwork that he thought I would like.

On the last day, he came out and handed it to me.

Toledo Lumber and Millwork Company

What a fine book, that can also be a great reference book for my job, as I design renovations and additions to houses that were built using very similar Millwork.

The illustrations are all perfect. It will be a great resource.

Thank you so much, Dan.

Bill

That Big Sky IPA is a Montana beer! Although I had several in Michigan that could give it a run for its money.

They were all good!

Bill

Yeah, I had a couple of Montana beers in the fridge that I put in with the rest. Thought somebody would catch that!

I think you should take a stab at the Everglades Challenge! ..that Tampa to Key West run has always intrigued me!
Don

That might be a bit too much for me and my kayak.

Well, me at least.

Maybe I can find a way to mount a little engine...

Bill