Today was such a perfect day from start to finish. I began the day by kayaking from Claiborne to Romancoke, and thoroughly enjoyed blue skies, 70 degree weather, and flat calm waters. I also had a buddy shuttle me back to my car – my Aunt Margaret Ann! We stopped for lunch and a hike on the way back to to Claiborne. I can’t thank her enough for helping me complete this leg since it would’ve been WAY too far (and dangerous!) for me to pedal.

After dropping Patrick off at school this morning, I headed straight to Claiborne, about an hour and 45 minute drive from home. Since I used to live in St. Michaels, it was like visiting an old friend. I used to ride my bike to Claiborne Landing from St. Michaels on a somewhat regular basis, and the drive made me mildly nostalgic for my single, only-have-to-care-about-myself stage of my life in my mid-20s.

The morning had been foggy, but the fog had lifted enough for me to paddle safely by the time I got on the water around 9:45. And the paddling was soooo easy. The water was so flat. It felt like butter. My kayak gracefully sliced right through the whole way. The trip was definitely more of a “connector” trip, rather than a scenic journey though. The scenery was blah, and the only wildlife I saw consisted of a single jellyfish and a handful of gulls and common loons (loons are still cool though).

It was also a very short paddle in comparison to come of my other trips, at just 4.5 miles. I was done in an hour and 15 min, which might be a record for me! My Geotracker app said my average moving speed was 3.89 mph!

When I arrived at the Romancoke fishing pier, I wasn’t quite sure where to get out, since I had never actually been to this spot before. But I figured it out by paddling under the pier and finishing at the official kayak launch. And perfect timing – Margaret Ann was there on the beach, waiting for me and reading a book.

Here’s the path I took:

We loaded my kayak (and all of my crap) into her truck and headed up the road to check out Terrapin Nature Park for a hike, and then grabbed lunch at the Jetty on Kent Narrows. Wow, we were sitting on an outdoor, waterfront deck, and I was wearing a tank top… in November!