That’s awesome Andy! Wish i could get down there! Lunch sounds great!
i can no longer walk, every thiing I do is an effort
.
Blockquote7t
Take comfort and rest in the love of your family, children, grandchildren.
-sing
Andy, I don’t know the words to say but do know having family is a blessing. I wish you well.
Andy, I’m so so sorry to read your post. PJC, Watersprite and many others expressed many of my thoughts, and much more eloquently. Like Watersprite, I returned to the forums after a long hiatus, but I still remember reading your posts back then and truly enjoying them. May the blessings of family, friends, and a lifetime of memories give you grace and peace. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and wisdom, then and now.
2 Likes
I am driving up to the western Maine mountains today. Tomorrow, I will be driving through the notch in Upton, ME. As I come down the mountain, I will see the expanse and majesty of Lake Umbagog and then drive by the public launch on Route 26, on my way to the Androscoggin River in Errol. What a beautiful place! We never paddle it together but I know we share a love of that place.
You’ll be in my thoughts. I am sure you are fully embraced in the love and hearts of your family and friends.
-sing
3 Likes
Me three. W/me, it was because of new injuries related to old injuries. When things get repaired, they are never as good as the original issue, so they will fail over time at an accelerated pace.
I’m now down to one fishing kayak thing my wife used to use. May buy a small canoe or one big enough for me and dog, then go back to canoe camping, floating downstream in national forests.
Can’t ever leave water tho. Internal combustion motors propel me in bigger water.
That’s the catch. I pass on knowledge gained through experience. Sometimes some will listen and find value in that. If they are good young people, I gift tangible things.
I have a reasonable amount of wealth I have to burn through before I pass tho as the relatives I could leave it to…don’t deserve it. The need to work.
1 Like
The great thing about kayaking is that the investment can be small and virtually no upkeep, exept keeping it dry on the inside. Compared to the expense of owning a power boat, with maintenance, transportation, registration, trailering, motor upkeep, the price of gas, the noise, the pounding when up to speed, and the fear of breakdown when out and about, kayaking is a gear investment.
You build experience along the way. If you’re analytical, you can figure out most of what you need by trial and error. That’s the fun. You can take classes if you have the time, money, and desire to accelerate your learning curve, but there’s plenty of free information available.
I agree with a sentiment expressed elsewhere that the only thing I dislike is loading and unloading. Well, there are solutions for that. There are so many options, from technical exploits, to just sitting on a gentle pond, with just covering distance to explore distant wayerways being my primary interest. For that, all I need is a roomy cockpit, good support in a comfortable seat, straight tracking, and stability being the tall order.
I’ve explored the open water and “navigable” rivers and creeks of the Upper Chesapeake Bay from the entrance to Baltimore Harbor up to below York, PA. Maybe not as impressive as the exploits of many experienced kayakers or as exotic as some pristine destinations, but it’s more diverse travel than many power boaters have vebtured, and the cost per mile more tolerable.
The best advice I have to offer new kayakers is to adapt, upgrade, evolve . . . You’ll know when to quit when you have enough memories to keep your mind occupied.
1 Like
Today is one of those partially cloudy days. The mountains are like embassaries from the clouds and sky above to the lakes and rivers below, and back up up again. This goes on and on in a reassuringly timeless way, from my limited human perspective.
Just learn one of my close neighbors in Maine passed. Only five of us left from about 20 that met 30 years ago on our small section of the western Maine mountains. Another season almost over and another year going by much quicker than we appreciate.
-sing
6 Likes