On Tuesday Aug 31th , nine lucky paddlers met at Bob’s Fishing Hole to explore the great Northwest River, for our weekly Tuesday group gathering. A few of us (Bruce, Margaret, and Bob) stopped at Hardees in Moyock, just across the NC border, for an excellent breakfast at a very reasonable price. The paddlers were; Bruce & Margaret, Ellis & Marti, Gayle, Kevin, Charlie, Carolyn, and Bob M. We were Lucky because it was one of the best days for paddling, with temps in the lower to mid-80s, a light gentle breeze, partly sunny (or partly shady) and flat water making it for great paddling. The water was at high tide, so it was a little easier to slide our boats in the water! We were scheduled to start at 9 am, but everybody arrived early so we started at about 8:45am, early is good in the summer, especially with a small group! As we were paddling we saw and heard birds, and admired the great scenery as we paddled about 2 miles to the Park. We got to the Park around 10am, way too early to eat lunch, so we decided to add a few miles onto the trip and paddle up the east side of the Park to the Baum Rd take-out, just for the fun of it. It turned out to be a wonderful side trip (adventure) with a many beautiful shady passages with a lot of zig-zagging turns, a paddler’s dream. A happy accident!! We arrived back to the picnic spot at the Park at almost exactly at noon (perfect timing). We had a nice lunch in the shade on two picnic tables, and observed how the new construction was going for the bathrooms (a few of us walked around the area). We were glad for the break of the long morning paddle, as good as it was! We headed back to the Fishing Hole at a leisurely pace still enjoying the breeze in our face and ready for some ice cream. Once we were finished with the paddle, some of us went to Southland, only to find out that they didn’t have anybody to dip out the ice cream, even though they was plenty available (they need help). So we decided to head back up the road to check out a NC visitor center, where we (Bruce, Margaret, Ellis, Marti, and myself) were able to satisfy our craving for ice cream. And it tasted So Good!!
Bob Mooney
View Bob's photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZyyBMrpHaXb4QvCe6