~English Proverb~
Week Fourteen represented my ability to demonstrate what I had found a way to do in Week 12.............to just say "Fuck It!" The week started with the raft trip to The Island on July 3rd with Lindy to see the fireworks, the same day as "The Great Belle Island Goose Herd". Needless to say, I was exhausted on July Fourth, so I am glad it was a holiday. I have already written about the firework adventures with Lindy in "Seriously???....Fourteenth Street truly DOES lack a Soul.", so feel free to catch up on it there. July Fourth was spent kayaking, working on The Island with my chainsaw, and I unfortunately enjoyed the experience of losing my wallet and having my car break down within ten minutes of each other...........what a lovely experience THAT was!.......(yes people, that was sarcasm). Friday, July Fifth made up for all the craziness because I was able to take my friends Matt and Liz, as well as a friend of theirs, on a raft trip, but more importantly, I was also able to take their six year old daughter Ava down the river. This day meant a lot to me, for many obvious reasons. First, it was spent with true and loyal friends. I love so many things about Matt and Liz, but none more than their ability to never make a single judgment about me for my situation or the choices I have made. They have stood by me through thick and thin, and have always made me feel like an equal. I am guessing that is what Lindy meant when he told me why he loved The Island experience so much. It means a lot to people to be seen for the positive qualities they possess within themselves and not the mistakes they have made in life..........it helps us all to move forward and away from the ugliness in our past.
Second, Ava is probably the coolest kid I have ever met (aside from M and Q.......they are equally as cool). I was not nervous about her safety on the trip, but I was on a very heightened alert to the fact that I had a young child in the boat. I planned on very conservative lines. Matt and Liz had been on the trip before at a similar water level and had agreed that Ava was ready......and ready she was. There was no fear, no hesitation. Just pure excitement, adventure, and fun. She seemed to love every minute, never showed any signs of fear in the whitewater, and had a lovable, adventurous spirit about her the entire day. The river was a pushy 8 feet (meaning that there was a bubble of water upstream of us and the river was on the rise and being pushed faster. When this happens the river is pushier than when it is at 8 feet and receding. Many river junkies will probably disagree with me on this theory, but I have enough experience to know that 8 feet on the rise is much more dangerous than 8 feet on the decline. It is a much more unpredictable environment) The trip was timed perfectly and the river rose to 11 feet by that evening, but Ava styled everything, including Pipeline at 8+ feet. Her presence on the rivah made me think about M and Q and the excitement they will have when they return to the James. There is something magical about watching a child experience a paddling trip on any rivah. You can see in their eyes the happiness that paddling brings and know that you are giving that child a memory that will last forever. I still remember my first paddling trips that my cousin took me on growing up. Had it not been for those trips, I doubt I ever would have become a kayaker.........Thanks Bryan! The experiences that Marlow and Quint had early on before things collapsed will hopefully remain in their hearts until we can experience them again.
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| Marlow paddling the Lower with daddy for the first time |
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| Quint using a kayak for its sole purpose.....to have fun |
“To be heroic is to be courageous enough to die for something; to be inspirational is to be crazy enough to live a little.”
~Criss Jami, Venus in Arms~
~Criss Jami, Venus in Arms~
This is the point that life started to get very interesting, so there is a bit of a change in some of the stories that follow. First, not everything in this blog is PG-13......some is rated R, and the following weeks follow a lot of that rated R trend. Second, if you like me because you think I am an upstanding person who is squeaky clean..........DON'T keep reading, because you will be highly disappointed. Third, the only things omitted are things that have legal ramifications to anyone involved, so just go with the story that is told. The omitted points are not taking away from any of it. Fourth, Marcelle would only use these stories against me if she, like Fourteenth Street, truly does lack a soul...........hear that Marcelle?
So, let us begin. I spent all of Saturday and Sunday solo paddling the Middle Lines between 9 and 11 feet, and recorded a lot of GoPro footage along the way. I also completed small projects on The Island. Between the two days, I completed the "Middle Lines Workout Program" five times. I enjoyed the isolation of the weekend and the mid summer high water excursions. The Middle Lines at 9 to 12 feet are just about perfect. Things are nice and fluffy, with strong lines, but are still safe enough for me to handle solo. I have paddled them higher, but definitely felt the nerves being out there alone. At 9 to 12 feet, I am good to go. This truly has been a magical summer for any RVA paddler.
On Monday, I paddled into work early, cruising through Pipeline around nine feet on my way to the marina. If you had told me five years ago that one day I would paddle straight to my job in the middle of July on a nine foot James I would have thought you were insane. But it was a reality, and is just another experience from this summer that I will store away with all my memories of the James.
After work I drove the Gator (worlds best shuttle vehicle) up to Brown's Island to drop off my boat, then paddled over for yet another afternoon "Middle Lines" routine. After about an hour of endless lines and boofs, I decided I wanted to get some dinner in Shockhoe Bottom, so I paddled down Pipeline alone. It was overcast and windy, so when I arrived at the bottom of Pipeline I was surprised by what I found. A lot of people have been hanging out on the beaches below Pipeline rapids during the past few summers, and any boater can tell you that the characters who occupy these beaches can be somewhat colorful with strong personalities. I was pleasantly surprised to paddle up to the beach and find that the only occupants on this day to be lovely, bikini clad ladies. It just so happened that I was out of water and thirsty, so I was in need of some sympathy and H2O. What I received was rum and coke, and some very colorful attitude. After about half an hour of highly amusing conversation, and Chrissy's attempt to throw me back out into the river where I came from, I was invited to dinner.......I think mostly out of sympathy for the fact I lived on an island. But whatever, I will take it. We had a nice dinner and I was able to meet some new friends. I guy named Chris joined the scene for dinner, and he was a welcome addition to the group. He was a motocross racer from the Northern Neck and traveled in a van that had a striking resemblance to the original A Team van.........how could you not like this guy. We decided that the night needed to continue, so an impromptu sunset raft trip to The Island was in order. After a brief visit to Fourteenth Street, some lovely encounters with fellow paddlers, and a quick safety meeting in the A Team Van (which was awesome!), we were on our way across the James as the sun set in the western sky and the skyline guarded our lines from the north. The evening was spent with good conversation, a great bottle of Absinthe (the real stuff.......not that fake shit!), and some beautiful views of RVA and our rivah! Thanks to Jean, Chrissy, Whitney, and Chris for all the fun that night. There are very few people in this world who would be willing to jump in a raft for a night time paddle trip with someone they barely know, but you guys took a chance, and it paid off for everyone. The paddle out through Pipeline was a 2 am raft ride around 8 feet, which just put an explanation point on the night! My favorite thing about The Island is the amount of new and interesting people it has allowed my to meet and become friends with. You guys were awesome on this night and I had a blast!
Little did I know, this would be my most normal night of the entire week........................(To be continued)
~Alexandre Dumas~
See ya on the rivah.................PEACE
