Another Paddling Day...

Ahhh... despite that many schools are back in session this week... it is STILL summer in Maine... and I am trying to capitalize!  Today a friend of mine and I went to a new place... a river... that is tidal... when we put in we were about an hour prior to high tide... I told her given the tide we should head up river and then when we were ready to turn back the current would have turned and it would be an easier paddle...

but... my friend loves the ocean.. and instead of going up river, we went down river.. towards the Atlantic... it was BEAUTIFUL... and I loved it... the paddle back, however, was a little tough... paddling AGAINST the current... was hard.. especially in a couple of places, but... we made it... and it was worth it... I am bummed that there is so much of that river that we did not explore... but excited about another new place to explore.  It was a GREAT adventure! 

Again, I find myself saying, "Wow!  I am lucky to live in Maine!"  

A little Forest Gump moment... 

Cormorants galore!  These birds crack me up... they are not the prettiest of birds... and  they crap A LOT... especially before they fly... gross... but childishly entertaining!  

Heron vs. snake or eel? A battle til the end... 

look at that thing trying to climb that bird's face! (I think at this point the heron wanted to give up, but had an audience and had to save face! pun intended)

In the end.. the heron won... but... I cannot imagine that the thing it ate was dead as it was going down its throat... Gross!  

We could barely see these geese, they were well hidden... I took this picture without seeing what I was taking.. had to hold the camera over my head... and hope!  

This guy moved onto another pool... apparently the snake was just an appetizer! 

Look closely, you can see my paddling partner! 

SAILBOAT!

This may be my favorite picture of the day... 

We decided to stop at this little beach to take a break, stretch, and enjoy the water... 

The yaks! 

The geese flew overhead while we were walking on the beach... they were in a V formation, but by the time I got focused in they were rotating... 

This was a rock with a VERY cool texture.. 

This boat was going too fast!  We managed to stay upright with his waves, but dude, seriously?!

We did not go out into the open ocean... we went out between two breakwaters, and that was as far as I wanted to go.  The waves were getting bigger and we turned back to go up river... the current was strong!  (Michelle Obama workout for sure!)  

Not sure why... I liked this dinghy! 

It was a GREAT paddle... and I am going to SLEEP well tonight!  

Work tomorrow!  Last week without kids...Looking forward to seeing them!