Tourist 7/2- London - We Walked All Day!

 Tourist - London

Hey Scotty, can you wire some more money?

We took a ride along the Thames.

We ended the day by getting tickets to "War Horse".
It's a good thing we didn't fall asleep!

There was a train stop near our hotel which led to the tube.
I was happy to let Richie take over navigating and he did a great job!

Tourist 7/1 - Flying to Germany

 We left Nashville at 12:00 and arrived in Detroit at 2:28.  We left Detroit at 5:55 and arrived in Frankfurt at 8:30.  We then flew to London and rode the tube to our hotel in Middlesex.  I had a huge scare the night before. I had printed out my tickets TWICE and decided to go online to check again and the flight was changed from Monday to Wednesday.  I had got the tickets through USD Travel and they were closed.  I worried ALL night and made many phone calls until I was assured that we'd be flying at the right time and we got new tickets.

We celebrated by going to Middlesex Arms for a dinner of fish and chips and for a pint.

Kayaking - Piney River - RedNeck Riviera

Piney River, June 28, 2014                       5 Miles, Total To Date  305 Miles
5 miles

Put in 5 miles up from Pinewood Campground.

Scotty and I decided to get in a kayakking trip before my big trip across the big pond!  It rained as we drove down and there were dark clouds the whole way as rain was predicted all day.  We put in at 10:30 and took out at 12:30 and it never rained on us.
The campground is a truly unique.  The campground and it's surroundings have all sorts of 'lawn art' making it a really cool place to visit!  The campsites are all along the river.  I enjoyed looking around and the people were very friendly.  At 10:00 in the morning, it wasn't too early for the campers to be drinking beer apparently.  :)  There was lots of stirrings around.  We were shuttled up and started our paddle.
The Piney River is beautiful.  It reminded us a lot of the Buffalo River.  The water was very clear and we could see lots of fish swimming beneath us (trout and catfish).  There were several places where we had to pay attention to our paddling - it just wasn't a straight, easy float.  We encountered some turns, rapids, and logs in the water, but nothing too hard.  We passed by several large rocks in the water and cliffs along the shore.  We passed probably 50 people at least.  We talked to one woman who said she paddles this river a lot, but she's noticed more and more people on the river.
All in all, a fantastic day and definitely a river we'll visit again.

Because, of course, you'd expect an ATM by the river!

This is a crawdad we saw in the water - a very tiny one, but he let me take his picture.

Kayaking Red River - Mandy's Inaugural Float

Red River, May 31, 2014                 Miles Traveled 7, Total 300 miles
Me, Scotty, Tina, Mandy, Ian

Today we went 7 miles down the Red River.  Mandy bought a new kayak and wanted to try it out.  She had never even been in a kayak, but felt like this is something she could do with her new found freedom.  Tina and Ian rented kayaks from Red River Canoe rental.  It was a beautiful day for kayakking.  Apparently Tina and Ian warned Mandy that she would tip.  Funny that she didn't fall in, but instead Tina when she encountered a tree during a river bend and the water speed picked up a little.  Good thing she had her important things in a dry bag - important things like her badge and gun.  I'm not sure who she thought she might encounter on the river, as I've encountered only the very nicest people out in kayaks.  Her job apparently gives her a different outlook on the people in our world :(  We did see a snake in the river about 1 mile into the trip. This was the first snake I've seen when out kayakking, and another friend Jim told us that last week a snake actually crawled over the back of his kayak when going this very same river.  While paddling, Ethan group texted that he was out on Curt's houseboat, Richie texted that he was on his way to Chicago, I texted my tongue out, and Amanda ended the text with a bored face saying she hated us all! 

Ethan's on a houseboat, Richie's on his way to Chicago and my response as I'm on the Red.

We traded kayaks towards the end of our trek and Tina and Ian saw the advantages of our Wilderness kayaks over their rental kayaks.  When I paddled in Tina's, I realized once again that this kayak is one of the BEST purchases I have ever made.

Kayaking - Red River - Start of Summer

Red River, May 29, 2014                     Miles Traveled 7, Total 293 miles
Richie, Beatrix, me
Port Royal to Adams
2 hours 12 minutes

It was the first day of my summer break and a great way to start it.  It was a hot, humid day - 30% rain forecasted, but it never did rain.   We paddled/floated and passed very few people which is unusual on this river (but it was a weekday).  We did see a brown, striped snake within the first mile.  That's the first time I had seen a snake while kayaking.  It freaked us out - thinking that there might be other snakes.   One thing I should note after seeing the photos.  Richie apparently had fun taking selfies!
Afterwards, Richie and I stopped at a strawberry patch to pick strawberries.   Yum!

Kayaking - West Fork River - Blueway Rally& Strainer

West Fork River/Blueway Rally, May 17, 2014         14.7 miles, Total 286 miles

Total Time 5:22, Moving Time 4:20,  Moving Average 3.4mph, Maximum Speed 7.3
Me, Ethan, Dick, Dina with Blueway Adventures

This was my first paddle after my 'arm incident'.  The arm incident started April 2 when I was bit by something, got cellulitis, went on 3 antibiotics, antibiotics made me very sick, visited doctors 4 times, turned out to be bursitis.  Needless to say it was a very, very long month.  And this turned out to be a very long paddle after not being able to use my right arm.  About 3 miles from the end I just wanted to be out of the water, but I made it.
As for the paddle, it was a great day.  There were maybe 20-25 people there for the rally.  One thing that the leader of Blueway Adventures said struck me as strange.  He said there MAY be some trees down between mile markers 5 and 6.  So guess what?  We were to first to get there and there was a huge tree blocking the river.  We were experienced paddlers and there was no way we were getting through.  Ethan to the rescue again as he helped last year with blockage.  He climbed out of his kayak and managed to move some branches and cut a path through.  It was a narrow path and we thought that might be a challenge for some of the kayakers who were out for their first time.  (Later I emailed the kayak group and suggested they check out the river the day before they plan a rally next time.  His response - thanks for coming out.)
The think about the West Fork River/Cumberland River is that there is no place to stop and get out.  The water does not appear clean.  There is one neat section where you can see the bluffs to your right and hear people up above on the greenway.  It is not my favorite river, but I do like supporting Clarksville and the blueway.