Last week Brian and I spent 5 days traveling around Delmarva to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary (shout out to his parents for watching Patrick all week!). This was the first time we’ve spent more than one night together, away from Patrick since he was born, so we decided to stay somewhat local, doing what we love – kayaking, biking, fishing, and hiking.

On Sunday, October 1, we started our journey north and I completed another 9 miles in the upper Chesapeake. Brian dropped me off at Stemmer’s Run boat ramp and explored a nearby wildlife management area while I paddled. I was thinking it was only 8 miles and it would take me a little over two hours to complete, but it turned out I was paddling against the wind and tide, and there were tons of boats to deal with, which really slowed me down.

We had had a string of crappy weather, and Sunday was the first beautiful day we’d had in nearly two weeks, so it seemed like everyone that owned a boat was out and about. As I approached the mouth of the Bohemia River, I was half tempted to cut the paddle short and paddle upstream to a kayak launch a few miles up. Crossing the river seemed terrifying with so many boats around, many of which were speed boats – boats that were so loud I could feel their engines reverberating in the hull of my kayak and I could barely hear myself think. But just as I was about to start paddling upstream, the wind immediately started to die out and boat traffic was almost nonexistent. It was super weird. I took it as a sign to just go for it and I made a bee line across the mile-wide river and was on the other side in no time. At no point was I even close to a boat. It was like the universe stopped for 20 minutes so I could safely cross.

Between watching boat wakes and dealing with wind, I didn’t take many photos. This trip was a “just get it done” trip. Scenery was mediocre and wildlife sightings were basically nonexistent. As I approached the mouth of the C&D Canal, I did see some interested aids to navigation and one GIANT yacht. Like a personal cruise ship!

I completed this leg in 3 hours, where Brian was patiently waiting for me at the end (I use the term patiently loosely – IYKYK!). Since there is no public access north of the Bohemia River kayak launch, I pre-arranged with the manager of the Harbor North Marina to allow Brian to pick me up there. Most marinas will not allow this, even if I try to throw money at them, which I find super rude. I could get on my soapbox now about public access to waterways, but that’s probably a topic for another time! The best part of this paddle was that it ended at a bar. I honestly think this stretch of my journey was my least favorite leg to date, so ending with a cold beer, with my husband, was a treat!

Here’s a couple photos and the path I took: