Paddle/Tour of ERP 6/11/24

Lafayette River Paddle and Tour of the Elizabeth River Project's Ryan Resilience Lab

I led my first Tuesday Group event with a GREAT deal of help. Kim really co-led this one. She did A LOT. Her husband Rob even went to work late so that he could assist KAO with the launch at Dick and Susie's place. (Thanks Rob & KAO!) Our Winona neighbors Dick & Susie were kind enough to let us use their dock, as it makes for an easier launch than the steps at the end of Ashland Ave. I chose not to launch from the City of Norfolk LaValette Avenue Kayak Launch right across the Lafayette River, next to the Virginia Zoo, because there are usually a few folks fishingthere -- and with 25-30 paddlers, I was concerned about the fishing lines and hooks. However, I did point out that public launch, as well as the Lakewood Park dock, Haven Creek Boat Ramp, and Highland Park Veterans Kayak Launch on Knitting Mill Creek. All of these can be found on a map here:  https://www.norfolk.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1384/Kayak-Launch-sites?bidId=

Our event began at 8:30am with goodies from the Bakehouse at Chelsea along with coffee and orange juice. Patricia provided a delicious organic fruit salad! The party favor was a whistle, given to all who did not own one -- as all paddlers must carry some type of sound producing device, by law, in the Commonwealth of Virginia. https://www.bakehouse757.com/ My husband Richard carted kayaks to the launch site for those who did not own kayaks, and I outfitted the paddlers with PFDs (Personal Flotation Devices) and paddles. After a few safety reminders, I providedeveryone with the following information: The Lafayette River is a 6.2-mile-long tidal estuary which empties into the Elizabeth River near the mouth of the Elizabeth, which flows into the James River, which flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The area we all stood  on prior to the launch was inhabited by the Chesepians, a group of eastern-Algonquian speaking Native Americans affiliated with the Powhatan Confederacy. The main village of the Chesepians was called Skicoak, and is believed to have been located along this river, which was named Tanner’s Creek after early Colonial settler Daniel Tanner. Tanner's Creek was renamed the Lafayette River in honor of the Marquis de La Fayette, the French Army officer and American Revolutionary War hero. With KAO as sweep, 29 paddlers kayaked to the banks of the Virginia Zoo, the mouth of Wayne Creek, the Willow Wood & Granby Street Bridges, the mouth of Haven Creek, the Colonial Place neighborhood from the water (where we have ridden our bikes in the past), and Knitting Mill Creek, where we stopped at the Elizabeth River Project's (ERP) new Ryan Resilience Lab. Along the way we passed various oyster bed restoration and shoreline restoration projects of the Elizabeth River Project (ERP) and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF). At the ERP we were given an orientation and tour by former First Lady of Virginia Pam Northam, who subsequently emailed, "we loved having you all and look forward to many fun collaborations in the future." After her tour we enjoyed lunch on the picnic tables in the shade under the Ryan Resilience Lab. Once back in the Winona neighborhood, Kim passed out Häagen-Dazs ice cream. My husband Richard was so happy when he arrived home to find that Kim, Bruce G, Bruce J, Charlie, and Bill had transported all of the borrowed kayaks from the launch site to our house about a block and a half away. MUCH appreciated gang! Thanks to Steve Clayton for thinking up this event. Thank you to EVERYONE for sharing in yet another TATC Tuesday Group event!

Sherri

View Sherri's pictures:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/UQnw4YyQTde7hzPZA

View Bill's photos:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/GB6eQezxWh2r9HDn6