Companion of Self

I went bike riding yesterday in the late afternoon, down towards Front Beach and around the usual route through the park. Usually I ride in the morning or middle of the day. The heat was not bad during this almost-evening time, and I had the interesting experience of a prominent shadow next to me most of the way. It was about my size, not stretched by a sun too low in the sky, but at just the angle to have a self on a bike pedaling next to me on the pavement. It's a neat feeling to see yourself pedaling strong, turning those wheels and going so fast on the road just on your own power. A new perspective.

Haven't been paddling a lot lately - partly because my spare time is too rare, but also because there have been other activities like stunt-kite flying, bike riding, etc. that bring just as much fun.

Someday I'll catch back up on the kayaking!

Ocean Kayak

These Ocean Kayaks are sit-on-tops that were fun in the surf and offshore in Ocean Isle Beach, NC. Had a little fun editing the photos.

Biking St Andrews again

It's been a while since I biked down to Belle Fountaine beach area. I remember last year I counted 7 houses being built. Now there are 10. About half look like high-dollar houses, the other half modest houses that are very elevated. There are lots of "for sale" signs on the lots. I think if the insurance cost is not reduced somehow, the lots will remain empty.

Here's a great site about the storm surge in the area: http://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/Katrinas_surge_part14.asp

My average speed seemed to be about 17mph and I didn't get much above 18mph even when up to speed. I'll try to work on that. This trip was 25 miles. Would have been a great day to paddle to Horn, but, didn't have all the logistics planned ahead of time. Maybe if I plan all that and all else works out one day, I'll go ahead and do it.

Against the Wind

Memorial Day is an ideal boating day, unless it's windy like it was today. I decided to kayak anyway and fought the wind the whole time. It was not unpleasant -- just challenging. I got out at Old Shell Landing and took some pictures. I had heard from a friend that back in the 1890s during the yellow fever epidemics that they had brought people here from New Orleans to be buried. I'm not sure about that, but there was definitely some yellow fever activity here. Mom sent me this link which discusses a camp in this location but not graves.
http://www.oceanspringsarchives.com/Hurricanes.htm




The property is beautiful and there are some spectacular live oaks. There is more history to the spot (such as the Oystering that gave it it's name) and I can image all kinds of things taking place here throughout the decades. Before that, I'm sure it was used by Native Americans.




From here you can see the bayou and look out towards the gulf.



Quite a few folks were out fishing today despite the wind, but only in the main bayou. I had the rest of the trip completely to myself. It's just astounding how close to city, and close to home you can be and still have so much open space in a natural state.

I can't make up my mind about the 3 hours paddling today (9.4 miles). Time well spent? Definitely. But does it improve your brainpower? Which of the mental bank accounts are you filling up when you spend such time? I'm confident that it is more of a natural activity than watching TV or working on the computer, but not sure what the far-reaching effects of such investments are. In any case... it's got to be good.

Biking Around OS

It's a great season for biking. We explored a new area next to Simmons Bayou. It looks similar to Davis Bayou and all the others around here, and there are some nice properties adjacent to it. Interesting occurrence of the day was several deputies searching the bayou for someone. They even brought in the helicopters. Wonder if they found what they were looking for... or did they find any gators out there?

Pelican Sunday

Posting this a week later. This particular Sunday the water was calm and I went out to the gulf and a little beyond. The Pelicans were sitting on the piers just outside the mouth of the bayou. I got a bunch of pictures of them, as they patiently waited for me to leave.



The GPS shows this as about 8 miles.



I keep seeing this baby heron (what kind?). Whenever I pass the spot, he croaks and flies up out of the bushes and into the tree.



The Great Blues are everywhere, as usual. They are the largest birds around, but the easiest to spook.



The Red-Winged Blackbirds make their happy declarations from their grass perches...



And here is the tiny beach I think of as Graveline Beach, just at the mouth of the bayou as it enters the gulf.

Skimmers at Sunset

The thunderstorms that went through today visited my house in the form of a lightning strike so close to us that it 1) blew the cable amplifier on all the houses on the street, and 2) shocked me as I was standing at the kitchen sink washing dishes. (Note to self: don't wash dishes in a thunderstorm. Luckily it wasn't a bad one.) Once I was sure they were out of the area I went paddling out on the remarkably plain looking water:



But had a few nice adventures, including a flounder jumping out of the water right next to the boat (I didn't know flounders would jump like that, but I guess I startled him), meeting the Pelican View crew (nice folks!), talking with another former resident of the area who was trolling in the bayou, watching a pretty good sized walk around boat meet the challenge of getting out of the water and up the ramp with unusual style, and finally, on the way back to the dock, seeing a surprise sunset and the first skimmers I've seen this season.