On the pleasant warm and sunny Sunday afternoon of October 8, Janet and I and her golden retriever Gracie went paddling near New Bern, in Craven County, on the Neuse River, from the Spring Garden landing maintained by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission. Gracie loves the water and is prone to jump into the river from any position when the notion grabs her. When she gets in the water, she is too big and heavy to get back into a boat. So, Jan and I did not put her in one of our boats. For the trip she either swam near us or climbed onto the bank and ran along the shore. We paddled several miles. Gracie kept up the whole time but apparently got tired occasionally and would go to the bank to rest.
Janet and I have a predilection for paddling, so most times when we visit each other in New Bern or Wilmington we go kayaking and canoeing. I have a nice kayak, but lately, I have been training for my next big trip on the Black River through the Three Sisters swamp. I will take my canoe on that trip, so lately I have been using my canoe to practice.
Janet is an athletic and strong paddler. I have probably paddled many more times than her; for a greater number of miles on the water; in more precarious and wilderness situations; with bigger loads of multi-day camping gear. So, at one point, she challenged me to a race! She won! I protested the results because during the race we were facing a strong headwind which put me at a disadvantage. She was in a kayak which is low to the water and has little wind resistance. I was in a canoe which sits higher in the water and has to work harder to get through the wind. I appealed to the rules committee, but my request for a new race was denied.
This trip was both of our first paddles on the Neuse River, which is the biggest watercourse in the Craven County area. At first, I was concerned that there would be a strong current and we would have a difficult time keeping our balance. It turned out this issue was not a concern. The current was so mild that we could only casually feel it, so we had no trouble paddling upstream against the current to begin the trip. A bigger issue was that the wind was stronger than the current. Several times on the return trip back to the put-in we had to paddle harder to get downstream.
It was a good trip, good practice in our boats, great to be outdoors in the sunny weather and on the water, and a good athletic workout for all three of us. A good time was had by all.
