Paddle Log #15: Twilight on the Potomac

Last summer, the boys and I went and did the guided twilight tour with Jack's Boathouse.  A few weeks before my dad & stepmom came to visit, this awesome deal came up on Groupon, so we bought the Groupons and made reservations for the twilight tour while my folks were in town for a visit.

After the swing-and-a-miss with the Ocean Kayak Frenzy for my 9 year old eldest son (ES), we took it back to EMS.  The EMS guys are awesome and didn't give us any trouble about returning it.  Isaiah at the Dulles EMS store recommended we try the Perception Acadia Scout for ES.  I was a little concerned that due to it's small size (max load 110 pounds) I wouldn't be able to ride in it myself to check it out.  However, I checked out user reviews for the Acadia Scout on various websites like Paddling.net, and only found positive reviews.  EMS had one delivered from the Annapolis store and we picked it up this week, so Friday night when we went for the Jack's Boathouse Twilight Tour was his first time giving it a try.

I'm happy to report that the Acadia Scout is a keeper.  One of the two managers of Jack's Boathouse, Anna, saw it and commented on what a great kayak it is and that her son used one, too.

In order to make sure we got through traffic and were on time for the tour, we headed toward DC about 2 hours before the tour and picked up some pizza at CPK.  I knew they had picnic tables and adirondack chairs at Jack's for us to sit and eat our pizza.  What I didn't know was that they have several barbecue grills there for you to use.  So we could have taken a cooler with some burgers and dogs and cooked up our own dinner right there at Jack's if we had wanted to.  File that tidbit away for future reference.

It was a gorgeous evening.  I couldn't have asked for better weather for our twilight paddle.  Air temperature was in the low 80's and so was the water temp.

Anna (in the white kayak) and Paul (in the safety boat) 

are the two managers of Jack's.

The guided trips offered by Jack's Boathouse are a great way for beginners to get out on the water and feel safe.  The water is flat and calm with barely any current.  Plus, there were three guides in kayaks with the group plus the manager, Paul, riding in the safety boat.

This paddling trip was notable for a couple of first-time-ever reasons.  In addition to it being ES's first time paddling the Acadia Scout, it was also the first time my wife went with us.  I had her sit in front of our tandem Ocean Kayak Malibu Two XL.

I gave 6 year old YB the choice of sitting in the middle or the back, and he chose the back.  Just like last time, I brought along the pad of waterproof paper for YB to doodle while we paddled.

Picture taken by Anna

Picture taken by Paul 

ES in his new Perception Acadia Scout

(Roosevelt Island in the background)

I think the parental units enjoyed it.

There are lots of pictures of my wife smiling, too.

We also tested the tow-line for ES and it worked great.  YB alternated between facing forward and facing backward in the back seat.  When we were towing ES, YB enjoyed facing backward and telling his brother knock-knock jokes - his favorite being the "banana", "banana", "banana", "orange you glad I didn't say banana" joke.

As we paddled around the Rosslyn-side of Roosevelt Island (west side), we saw a few families of ducks and a Great Blue Heron in a tree.  I forgot to put on bug repellent before we went out, but I was pleasantly surprised we didn't need any.  I didn't see a single mosquito the whole time we were out.  I did get a little pink on my neck and arms, but not too bad.

Sunset on the Potomac and the return of the no-paparazzi-hand placed precisely in the middle of the picture.

Stats for the paddle log:

• Date: 11 June 2010
• Time In: ~7 p.m.
  
• Time Out: ~9 p.m.
  
• Elapsed: ~2 hours
• Moving Time (GPS):  don't know - forgot my 60CSx
  Stopped Time (GPS):  don't know - forgot my 60CSx
• Mileage: 2.5 miles by GPS 
• Avg Speed (GPS):   don't know - forgot my 60CSx
• Max Speed by (GPS):   don't know - forgot my 60CSx 
• Sea State: 0
• Winds: 0
• Air Temp: ~82F and the humidity was low, so it was a nice night out
• Water Temp: 79-81F
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Like last time, I tried out two methods of measuring the water temperature.  This time, the readings were a lot closer than last time.  The conductive thermometer said it was 81.3F.  The infra-red thermometer I use for checking the temperature of my car engine said it was 79.8F.   
• Current:   none
• Gauge Height:  N/A
• Rapids?  None. 
• Hazards?  Periodic motor boats on the river, but we were fine on the edges of the river close to shore.  Plus, Paul in the safety boat ran interference for us.
  
• Kit: ES first time in his Perception Acadia Scout.  Anna had a special short paddle for kids that she let ES use, too.  LW, YB, and me in our Ocean Kayak Malibu Two XL. Flop hat & sunglasses.  NRS paddling gloves.  Short sleeve shirt, swim trunks, Keen sandals.
• Configuration: LW in the front, I sat in the middle, and YB sat in the back.  YB rotated a few times, alternating between facing forward and facing backward. 
• Route:  From Jack's Boathouse under the Key Bridge, clockwise around Roosevelt Island and back.

The mileage on Garmin Connect isn't exactly right because I forgot to turn on my Garmin Forerunner until shortly after we had left, and I forgot to stop the Forerunner until we were in the car driving away from Jack's Boathouse.  That's why I normally like taking my Garmin 60CSx with me, because I can edit the data and isolate just the time we were paddling.

Shenandoah Nat'l Park Hike - Little Stony Man

The first time I went hiking in Shenandoah National Park, I went with my friend Bob to the Rose River Falls loop trail.  We drove the two hours down there, and upon entering the park received a schedule of the day's Park Ranger guided hikes.  It turned out, there was a Park Ranger leading a hike on the Rose River Falls loop trail the same day, but not until later in the afternoon.  I wish I had known that ahead of time, so I made a mental note to myself, "Self, next time, check the schedule in advance and plan your hike to be here for one of the Park Ranger guided hikes."

Fast forward six weeks.  My dad and stepmom are in town visiting from Oregon, so I took a few days of leave to spend time with them this week.  I checked out the schedule ahead of time, and on Thursday, my dad and I went down to SNP to join the Park Ranger guided hike to Little Stony Man.

View from the Parking Lot

(picture doesn't do it justice)

It was an absolutely gorgeous day out.  I couldn't have asked for better weather for the hike.  The sun was out and the visibility across the Shenandoah Valley was extraordinarily good.  Temperature was in the high 70s and it was a bit breezy, but it was nice to keep us cool during our hike.

We met up with Park Ranger Sally, who has a PhD in geology, along with two other hike participants at a view point parking lot, and after some brief introductions we headed out on the Appalachian Trail.  Being a geologist, Sally had a lot to say about the different types of rocks we saw, but she also told us a lot about the plants and animals along the way, too.

Survival Skills Note to Self:  The brown lichens pictures above are called rock tripe.  They are edible and have a calorie content.  File that one away in the "survival skills" back of your noggin.  (No, I didn't try any.)

Self portrait on the AT

Trail Blazes:  Here's something else I learned today.  WHITE trail blazes are ONLY used for the Appalachian Trail in SNP.  BLUE blazes are for hiking trails (not the AT).  YELLOW blazes are horse trails.  RED blazes mean you're leaving the park, turn around!

Mountain Laurel

We saw a ton of Mountain Laurel everywhere we went on our hike, and it was beautiful. 

Purple-Flowering Raspberry

Wild Strawberry

Stony Man looking up to the sky

Park Ranger Sally had a lot of laminated information pages and annotated pictures in her backpack to help explain things to us along the way.

Talking with some thru-hikers

Thru-Hikers are people who are trying to hike the entire length of the Appalachian Trail in one season.  This is right about the time they pass through SNP, so we encountered several on the trail and stopped to talk with a few.  These guys left Georgia on April 3rd and had hiked 900 miles by the time we crossed paths with them on June 10th.

My dad and me on the AT

Evidence of Bears

Several hikers told us they had seen bears that day.  Along the way, the Park Ranger pointed out a couple of indications that a bear had been there recently.  In the photo above, she pointed out that it was fresh indication that a bear had been ripping up this dead tree to eat the bugs inside.  We also saw where a bear had recently removed a rock from alongside the path to eat some sort of a bug nest under the rock.

What's that in there?

Can you see it?

The Park Ranger told us that 60% of bears in SNP den up in trees, and pointed out this bear den in a tree.  The two black spots on the tree in the middle of the picture are gaping holes in the top of the tree where the bears climb in and out. 

In spite of all this, we never did see any bears.  We did see a ~3 foot snake that bolted into the brush before I could grab my camera.  We also saw a lot of tiger swallowtail butterflies, but they wouldn't stay still long enough for me to get a decent picture, either. 

Evidence of Civilian Conservation Corps

We saw evidence of the projects done by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression, such as the retaining wall in the first picture above and the remnant of the old emergency telephone system that ran along Skyline Drive.  The post on the right is one of those things I would have just walked on past if I had been hiking this alone without a knowledgeable guide to teach us about what we saw along the way.

My dad and me under the Stony Man's nose

Self portrait under Stony Man's nose

Hike Stats

It certainly wasn't a very long hike, but that's okay.  It was a beautiful day and a nice hike, and I learned a lot from Park Ranger Sally.

After we finished the hike, we headed to the Skyland Lodge for lunch.  We scored an awesome table by the windows overlooking the Shenandoah Valley.  This was my second time eating here, and both times I have been very pleased with the quality of the food and the service, not to mention the stunning scenery.  

They use local produce here, to include local blackberry ice cream pie. :-9  I highly recommend it!  (Oh, and I recommend sharing - one slice is definitely big enough for two people.)

I'm very pleased with the two hikes I've done in SNP so far, and there are still several more hikes I would like to do.

In the Skyland gift shop, I picked up two new books: 

Wildflowers in Color: A Field Guide to More Than 250 Wildflowers of Eastern North America.  In case you haven't figured out by now, I really enjoy taking pictures of flowers on the trail.  I'm not very good at identifying them though.  I have searched a few book stores for a field guide to flowers I see, but haven't been happy with anything I found until now.  This book is compact and easy to use.  It has two big color photos of flowers on each page with a short text description of each.

I've also been on the lookout for a good reference for day hikes in SNP.  I ordered one off the internet and wasn't very happy with what I got.  It was compact but not very user friendly or informative.  While in the Skyland gift shop, I thumbed through the half-dozen different hiking guides they had on the shelf, and I thought this one was the best balance of compactness versus content.  It has very good maps and descriptions of the hikes, and it has a pretty long list of hikes to choose from.  This was one of those cases where I was glad to put "eyes on target" and choose which one I wanted instead of just ordering something that sounded good off the internet.

Panther Family Laser Tag

I have a new addition for my NoVA favorites list:

Panther Family Laser Tag 

& Amusement Center

(website here - yelp reviews here)

We had my eldest son's 9th birthday party there last weekend, and it was AWESOME!  This is a very well-run business.  They have running kid's birthday parties down to a science, and we didn't have to handle any real setup or cleanup afterward.

 

We showed up with a cake we picked up at Wegmans (which was also awesome - but that's a statement of the obvious because absolutely anything that comes out of the Wegmans bakery is awesome).  They had a hostess assigned to give us her full and undivided attention.  Our hostess, Asia, greeted us, went over the sequence of events, and got us set up in one of the party rooms.  

They have Papa John's pizza delivered, and Asia took care of setting out the place settings of paper plates and napkins, served the pizza to the boys, served the drinks, put the candles in the cake, and carried the cake over to ES while leading everyone in singing happy birthday.  She cut the cake and handed out the pieces.  After it was all said and done, she cleaned it all up, too.  Totally low-stress / hassle-free for me and my wife.

Sweaty ES from running around the arena.

We liked this place better than the bouncy-place we had our younger son's birthday party because they provided unlimited drinks here.  Instead of charging us per-bottle, here they provided pitchers of lemonade, water, or pepsi products (sierra mist), and just kept bringing as much as you wanted.

We did the 3-game option (there are 1 or 2 game options).  We played two games, then broke for pizza and cake, then played a third game.  Everyone had a BLAST.  They gave us one free parent pass to play, too, so I went in to play with the boys. 

First, they bring you into a briefing room to watch a well-done and humorous safety video (no running, no lying down, no profanity, etc).  They divide the kids up into three teams - Green, Blue, and Red, and you go into the next room to suit-up.

Green Team SUIT UP!

Of course, I had to take a traditional Blunoz self portrait.

The vest you wear has sensors on the shoulders, front, and back that can get "hit" by the other team's lasers.  Each gun has an ID name on it so you can check your stats on the scoreboard after the game.

After each game, your statistics are shown on a big screen, and they also provide you individual printouts for each player that state how many shots you fired, how many hits you scored, what your accuracy percentage was, etc.

There is also a video monitor for parents to watch what's going on inside the arena.

He-shoots-he-SCOOOOOOORES!

There's a decent variety of video games and air hockey tables to play in the lobby area.

Overall, the boys had a great time, and my younger son said he wants to have his next birthday party here, too.  I look forward to that.  :-)

FY11 CO/XO Screening Board Results

Being selected to become a Commanding Officer (CO) or Executive Officer (XO = second in command) is a significant milestone in the career of a submarine officer. For any non-Navy family/friends who want to learn more or refresh their memory on the career progression of a submarine officer, please read this post.


Just like last year, I've been getting a LOT of hits on my blog lately from people looking for the results of the CO/XO Screening Board that met last week. In previous years, I have posted the results here because I know there are a lot of fellow submariners out there who would like to see the list and wish their former shipmates congratulations, but aren't currently working in a job that gets the "ALSUBFOR" message traffic.

This year, kudos to NAVPERSCOM, they have added a selection board page to the Pers-42 web page, and you can view the FY11 CO/XO Screening Board results in PDF format here.

Congratulations to all who screened for these important career milestones!

Paddle Log #14: Beaver Creek Reservoir

You may recall from our Monocacy River trip a few weeks ago that then-8-year old ES saw another 8-year old paddling his own kayak and decided he would like to have his own, too.  I was excited about this prospect, too, because it will allow me a little more leg room in our tandem kayak than with me and both boys.

I did some research and decided on an Ocean Kayak Frenzy for ES.  The reasons I chose the Frenzy were:

• We are very pleased with our Ocean Kayak Malibu Two XL, and we also enjoyed paddling an Ocean Kayak Peekaboo while we were on vacation on the Big Island.  
• The sit-on-top Ocean Kayaks are VERY stable.  Even when I TRIED to flip it over, it was very hard for me to do.  After I had intentionally flipped it over, it was VERY easy to flip it back upright again.
• After flipping it back upright, it was easy to climb back in and there was no bailing necessary.  There are scupper holes that allow the water to drain.
• It has positive reviews on various websites like ACK and REI.  
• It's a nice balance of cost and quality.  It's toward the bottom end of the price range compared to other more fancy kayaks with all sorts of fishing gear and rudders and hatches and cup holders.  At the other end of the spectrum, I noted negative comments in user reviews for other less expensive kayaks about poor construction and stuff breaking.

Last weekend, we picked up an Ocean Kayak Frenzy from the Dulles EMS.  That's where we bought our Ocean Kayak Malibu Two XL last year, and I have been very pleased with how helpful the staff is there, and with their prices.  They were having a big sale last weekend, so we went ahead and made the purchase.

ES and I were both very excited to get out on the water and let him try his new kayak.  At the same time, I was also cautious about going out our first time.  Just like the first time we took the Malibu Two out, I wanted to go someplace with calm, flat water just to test it out, so we went back to the Beaver Creek Reservoir over off of Belmont Ridge Road. 


It was HOT out, too.  It started out about 77F when we arrived at the waterfront about 9 a.m. and had climbed to 90F by the time I got off the water at 1 p.m.

First, the boys and I went for a short paddle across the reservoir and back just to try out ES's new kayak.  One of the selling points for ES on the Monocacy River trip was he saw the family that was with us had a tow line.  When the 8-year old got tired of paddling they just hitched him up on the tow line and pulled him along.  When we bought the Frenzy for ES, we also bought a tow-line, and we tested it out.

Testing the Tow Line

My son complained about the Frenzy being difficult to paddle and steer.  I thought it was just growing pains of him getting used to paddling on his own instead of me doing most of the work.  I found out later I was wrong, but I'll get to that in just a moment.

New must-have for future kayaking trips with the boys:  Waterproof notepad for drawing pictures.  As we enjoyed the peace and scenery along the other side of the reservoir, 6-year old YB drew pictures of what he saw.  It was a great way to keep him occupied and involved today.

 A VERY fitting picture for the first page of this notepad.

Turtle and a pair of dragonflies.

Happy Daddy and a tally of things YB saw today.

After we paddled around for a bit, saw lots of fish jumping out of the water, saw two turtles, and generally enjoyed the peace and tweeting birds in the background, we headed back in to the dock.  I had my wife pick up the boys to take them home.  A friend and his son wanted to try out kayaking, so I had them come down and paddle around for a bit to give it a try.  After they were done, I wanted to see what the Frenzy was like.

 Paddling in the Frenzy

Oh boy.  (Not a good "oh boy" mind you.)

The Frenzy was a big swing-and-a-miss.

I almost immediately realized how frustrated ES must have been when he was trying to paddle.  When comparing different models of kayaks, you will hear the term "tracking" used to describe a kayak's ability to stay on course or move in a straight line.  Well, the Frenzy had the tracking ability of an inner tube.  It required continuous effort to keep the bow pointed in the direction I wanted to go.

Our Malibu Two XL has excellent tracking.  I can stop paddling, pick up my camera, take a picture, put the camera back down, pick up my paddle again, resume paddling, and all that time the kayak will have continued to glide along the same direction it was going when I put my paddle down.

Not so with the Frenzy.  If I put my paddle down to take a picture, by the time I picked my camera up, the bow would have swung 90 degrees off to one side or the other.  With each stroke, the bow swung wildly in the direction of the stroke.

Z. E. R. O. tracking.  None.  Nada.  Zip.  Nil.

I feel bad I didn't listen to ES when he was paddling and just chalked it up to his experience level paddling solo.  After I got home, I washed off the Frenzy and took it back to EMS.  The staff at EMS were very understanding.  They had told me if we tried it and didn't like it that we could bring it back.  We are researching a better kayak for ES now.

In spite of how difficult it was to keep on course, I did enjoy a paddle down to the southern end of the reservoir and back.  I went 2.83 miles in 57 minutes.  It was quite a workout though because I had to continuously paddle to keep on course.  (Aside: That would also be why I only have one photograph to share from my solo paddling in the Frenzy.)  On the way southbound, I was paddling into a light breeze which kept me cool.  Coming back though, I was going with the direction of the wind and the air seemed stagnant around me.  I was pretty overheated by the time I got back.

Stats for the paddle log:

Stats at the end of paddling with the boys.

• Date: 31 May 2010
• Time In with the boys: 9:30 a.m. (approx)
  
• Time Out with the boys: 10:30 a.m. (approx)
  
• Elapsed: ~58 minutes
• Moving Time (GPS):  51 minutes
  Stopped Time (GPS):  17 minutes
• Mileage: 1.3 miles by GPS 
• Avg Speed (GPS):   1.5 mph
  
• Max Speed by (GPS):   3.6 mph

• 
  
  
  Stats at the end of paddling solo.

• Time In solo: noon (approx)
  
• Time Out solo: 1:00 p.m. (approx)
  
• Elapsed: 58 minutes
• Moving Time (GPS):  56 minutes
  Stopped Time (GPS):  2 minutes
• Mileage: 2.8 miles by GPS
• Avg Speed (GPS):   3.1 mph
  
• Max Speed by (GPS):   4.3 mph

• Sea State: 0
• Winds: 0-5 kts S
• Air Temp: 77F at 0900 climbing to 90F at 1300.  It was fairly humid, too.
• Water Temp: 75-80F
• 
  
  
  Call me a geek, but I tried out two methods of measuring the water temperature today.  The conductive thermometer said it was 80F.  The infra-red thermometer I use for checking the temperature of my car engine said it was 75F.  Either way, the water was pretty nice today.
   
• Current:   none
• Gauge Height:  N/A
• Rapids?  None. 
• Hazards?  None.
  
• Kit: Our Ocean Kayak Malibu Two XL and paddles. Flop hat & sunglasses.  NRS paddling gloves. Long sleeve shirt, swim trunks, Keen sandals.
• Configuration: I sat in the back seat, YB in the front.
• Route:  With the boys, we went directly west across the reservoir and back.  During my solo paddle, I went down to the southern tip of the reservoir and back again.  This is the second time my Garmin Forerunner has messed up and combined different data sets.  When I started the first paddle with the boys, I had most definitely reset the Forerunner and started with a trip counter of 0.0.  Yet, viewing it on Garmin Connect, it combined that trip with the previous bike ride I did with YB, so the map is all screwy.  I reset the Forerunner again before I started my solo paddle, and that turned out okay on Garmin Connect.  
  
• Other comments (such as wildlife spotted):Turtles, fish jumping out of the water, dragonflies.  Heard a lot of birds, but didn't see any.