I headed off to see my sister Kim and brother-in-law Don on Sunday, 2 October, after working the night shift the previous night and catching few hours of sleep. I got down there in the late afternoon in time for an early dinner before heading off to church. Upon our return to the house we just took it easy. Kim was exhausted because she got no sleep the night before.
On Monday morning, I headed off the MacKay Island National Wildlife Refuge on the border of VA and NC. I never noticed it was there before though I been through it once on a road trip with Kim and Don. It looked like there should be some good paddling, walking and wildlife watching opportunities. Unfortunately, I could not figure out where exactly I should be able to put my kayak in so I ended up taking the 5.5 mile walk around the inland ponds.
I did have some good bird sightings and saw either a nutria, muskrat, or beaver swimming about working on its abode. As for birds, I saw numerous Great Blue herons, American egrets, osprey, Belted kingfishers, Eastern meadowlarks (cool birds) and the occasional what I think were Gadwalls or American Widgeons, an American Bittern, etc. I also saw a couple of smashed snakes on the trail including one that was likely to be an adult water moccasin. All in all it was a nice day.
On the way home, I stopped in at the Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant near Kim’s for a beer. There I had a tasty Loose Cannon Ale and a Reissdorf Kolsch. I also tasted the Aventinus Weiss which was very good. Hopefully they will still have it on tap the next time I stop in. For dinner we went to Cogan’s Pizza, which except for one sub par experience, I have always enjoyed.
Tuesday was a slow day for me. The mid-watches still take their toll. I was finally able to get going in the afternoon and headed off to one of my favorite kayaking spots down Suffolk way, Burnt Mills Reservoir. It was a beautiful paddle but I think I have explored almost the whole reservoir by now. I always like to see what is around the next bend and there are very few more to go around.
Finally, on my way home and back to work on Wednesday night, I put the kayak in at Deep Bottom Park on the James River SE of Richmond. That is another one of my favorites. The river flows straight through the area but also has a huge offshoot loop where the landing is. I went around the loop all the way for the first time and stopped into this huge lagoon to look for birds. Usually I see tons of Great Egrets there but that day I was limited to Great Blues.
I had a passenger the whole time I was on the river. What I gather was grasshopper landed on the prow of my kayak when I put in and stayed there for the whole trip until I landed. First time in a long time I have paddled with a companion…
