"Spring Break" Part 2.

Onward to Boothbay. Rolled into town and headed straight to Ocean point for some quiet reflection time. It's become a custom for me to do so whenever I'm in town.
On the way back into town, I saw that Steve (kayak shop coworker from the summer) was home, so I dropped in and we caught up on stuff. After that, hung out a little bit in town, then headed to the shop to pack up a boat. Before long, I was ready to go.

Ready to leave the shop.

I hadn't been in a kayak since late September, so I was just a little concerned about feeling uncomfortable or tippy or something. Not sure why, because I felt right at home. I guess those 15+ years of paddling and all the paddling I did this summer has sunk in (so to speak). I was a little worried about my hands getting cold and numb. I had some lightweight neoprene ("hydroskin") gloves I'd used before as well as some pogies I found kicking around at the shop. The gloves were fine. Hands got plenty wet, but stayed warm enough. The paddle out was quite nice.

Calm waters passing Juniper Point and into Townsend Gut.

After a little over an hour, I made it out to Spectacle Island. This has been my favorite camping spot for years. I used to like Ram Island, but there's always the possibility of powerboaters joining you out there. Not in the winter I suppose.

Ashore on Spectacle Island.

Not long after landing, I had the epiphany that hark, my camera can do videos. So I decided to play around with that. Let me know what think...


Got camp set up, decided to give you all a little tour of my chosen spot.

And don't worry, I hardly drank any of that alcohol. Though, I drank most of the bottle of wine last night when I got home, but who's keeping track? Anyway, not the best night's sleep I've had. Warm enough, but like I said before, I'm not used to sleeping on the ground anymore. Also, I had arranged myself with my head slightly downhill, which never works for me, but I couldn't be bothered to rearrange everything. It snowed a little overnight, and I woke up to all sorts of birds making a racket. Quite pleasant really. First thing that woke me up was a crow, then I heard chickadees, geese, and a loon splashing around. Lots of loons around, but I didn't hear them calling at all. Lots of Eider ducks as well. Saw a couple seals too. Here's a look at things in the morning.


Took my time getting out of bed and packing up. Really was a pretty morning. Wandered around and took a couple pictures.

Campsite in the morning.

The beach and a view toward the east (as if the sunrise didn't give that away).

Looking towards the southern part of Spectacle Island with the connecting sandbar, Boston Island beyond, and Southport beyond that.

All packed up and ready to roll. Yeah, I'm wearing shorts. Better than wearing wet pants. Spare me the hypothermia lecture... I know.

The Scirocco looking pretty.

Eventually got in the water and headed back towards the harbor.

Stopping for a self-portrait on a lobster trap float in the Gut.

Nice smooth water until I rounded Juniper point and headed across the open part of the harbor. By then, the wind had picked up and was gusting pretty strong. No worries usually, but I wound up fighting the boat a little bit. Apparently, dragging the boat across the snow must have jammed ice into the skeg (retractable fin thingy) slot. Must have frozen overnight, because it wouldn't budge. Usually, when you're paddling across the wind like I was, you can just drop the skeg, and it'll keep you from pointing into the wind. It's sort of cheating I suppose, but it saves you a lot of work. However, since that wasn't working, I edged a little bit to windward (leaning to one side makes you turn the opposite way, so leaning to windward helps prevent weather-cocking). But, since I'm already a big dude, and the boat was fully loaded, I was riding low in the water. Not only does a loaded boat respond like a bloated pig, I also got soaked. So I basically just paddled on one side for a mile or so to keep from turning into the wind. It would have been nice to have a greenland paddle, so I could extend the stroke a bit more, but whatever. No worries. Made it back safe and sound.

Safe and sound back at the shop.

Changed out of all my wet stuff, threw all my gear in the car, and headed home. Actually, headed home a different way since I was going to meet up with Kristen. She is thinking of getting another puppy and wanted to have Zephyr's dog bed and kennel. So I got to see her and meet her boyfriend and his dog. Not that I had any expectations about it, but it went very well. We were laughing and smiling and being goofy, and it didn't feel forced at all. Her boyfriend seems like a really nice guy too. Cute dog he's got too.
Anyway, headed home after that, unloaded the car, ate some dinner, drank the aforementioned bottle of wine, and went to sleep. Unpacking the gear and drying things out comes next. It's going to be like when we were little and made forts out of blankets and chairs around here for a while. Have to hang things up to dry somehow! Overall, a much needed little break. Good times.