Tag Archives: Kayaking

Skywatch Friday – Vacation Edition

This week I didn’t know if I was going to be able to post a Skywatch Friday post. Our son is going back to school soon and we wanted to give him some sort of vacation after his summer of taking Spanish classes online (three hours a day, four days a week of Zoom, ouch, I hate zoom), working hard at Loews Hardware, and socially isolating during this resurgence of Covid in a state that is not doing anything it about in order to maintain “freedom and justice for all.” (Yes, literally the state is doing nothing at all.)

So we said goodbye to our worthless cats and incredulous dogs.

Loaded up the car like the Okies we are and headed to Branson, Missouri. (Aka, the “Baptist Las Vegas”) to stay at a cabin for fun and social isolation. No shows, no, Silver Dollar City, no elbow to elbow jostling with anybody, cook most of our own meals and go at off times and eat outside when we do go out to eat.

This cabin had some strict rules. Most cabins have don’t type rules, this cabin had “do” rules. We liked these rules, what about you?

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The first day we went kayaking. It doesn’t get more socially distant than this.

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So we went here, there, and everywhere in the cove of the place we were staying.

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So we have done a ton of reading, hanging out at the swimming pool, and just kind of in general chillaxing.

We made one trip into the “Belly of the Beast” Branson Landing which is pretty much deserted. Taney County, which includes Branson has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the county, about 30% according to the state. I’m like wow! A city so dependent on outside visitors is doing everything they can to discourage travelers. Their brand new mayor is actually proud of their anti public health stance. What are we doing here!! We walked up and down the deserted area without entering any of the places that were open. Personally, I think they would be smart to get ahead of the issue instead of sticking their head in the sand.

Back in our bubble!! They skies are pretty cool. I tried to fly my drone but the cabin in in a no fly zone for some reason. Probably because we are so close to the lake.

Cabin internets are highly variable and I didn’t think that I would be able to post from there so I set Skywatch Friday up in advance and thought well I’ll just post when I get home but it turns out it is blazingly fast. So I am linking up with Skywatch Friday. Come join us!!

Ruby Tuesday – Red Sailboat

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On our recent vacation to the Alabama coast, we spent a morning kayaking the Bon Secour River. There are many houses that back up to the river and have private docks with boats, canoes, and other watercraft. I found this pretty sailboat tied up at such a dock. There is something about a sailboat that speaks to me of wind, water, fun, and a lot of hard work taking care of it.

Have you ever had a sailboat?

Linking with Ruby Tuesday Too

Blue Bayou Monday

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I’ve been back from vacation a full week now and although I love my job and the peopleI with my mind tends to wander back to the Bon Secour River near Mobile Bay.

Oh well, we got bills to pay and a kid to educated. Work, work, work!!

Where does your mind wander?

Our World – Kayaking the Bon Secour River

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A highlight of this year’s vacation to the “Redneck Riviera” of Orange Beach/Gulf Shores, Alabama was a kayak ride down the Bon Secour River which feeds into Mobile Bay.

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We rented the kayaks from BeachNRiver Kayak Rentals near the town of Foley. BeachNRiver is located on a creek just a few hundred yards from the Bon Secour so it is very handy an d “Ranger Rick” and “Beaching Betty” the hosts were very nice and informative and made sure that we were ready for our outing. We used BeachNRiver three years ago on our first trip to the area and loved the experience so much we came back. (I can’t find my post fromthat trip!!! or I would link to it) They do a great job.

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The river flows very slowly and is free of obstacles so the kayaking is pretty easy going both downstream and upstream.

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The river is pretty narrow at first but soon opens up. There are lots of houses backing up to the river with boat docks facing the river. They ranged from just shacks to some pretty luxurious homes and everything in between.

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We passed a few motorboat and sailboats made from SpaceAge Panels, on our trip. Every one of them idled down to not make a wake as they passed us and the people on board always had a comment or two as we we went by. The river is a happy place and the people using it are very respectful of each other.

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A highlight of the trip was a dolphin we say making its way slowly upriver. All I had for cameras were waterproof recyclables so I don’t have a good pic of the dolphin, or any pic for that matter but still it was great to see. The dolphin was surfacing frequently and I could hear it “breathing” which is something I had never heard before.

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The great thing about a kayak is that you are almost at one with the water. You can glide over sandbars and just kind of cruise along and feel like you are part of the river. They are easy to maneuver and propel. It is a little tricking getting in and out of them if you are not used to it.

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In addition to the dolphin we saw lots of ducks, herons, and pelicans.

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Our outing took a little less than four hours and we were a good tired when we were done. We all agreed that the expedition was the highlight of our vacation. We loved the beach but it was nice to get away from all the hustle, bustle, and people for a few hours.

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Our World Tuesday