Sue had suggested that we go kayaking today as it was supposed to rain Sunday. Jill and Lucas were coming for a visit and dinner Sunday, so it would be too busy then anyway.
I was a little leery of going Saturday, though, because the weather forecast was for temps in the 90s. Though you can find shade on most of the rivers we kayak on, I wasn't real keen on darting from shady spot to shady spot in that hot of a sun.
Sue would go kayaking regardless of the weather! I wanted to get out with her anyway, and so off we went about 10:45 am.
We started out heading toward Murdock Lake in Berwick, ME, but Sue spotted some kayakers on the Salmon Falls River as we crossed the bridge on Route 4 into South Berwick. We looked at each other, and said at the same time: "An Explore!"
I turned onto Route 236, and then off on Vine Street to head back to the parking area by the falls. What a perfect place! Sue walked down to the river's edge and chatted with one of the kayakers to get some information about that area. She came bouncing back to the car with a "Let's go!"
We had the kayaks in the water in no time; the sound of the falls echoing everywhere. It wasn't too far down the river that we stopped to admire this beautiful series of old farm buildings, most filled with freshly cut hay rolled into giant yellow-wheat colored bundles.
The whole river was spectacular. There were lots of interesting spots to check out, and plenty of shady areas along the banks to stop and cool off. Surprisingly, it wasn't oppressively hot. Maybe the temps didn't hit as high as projected, or maybe it was the really nice - sometimes brisk - breeze that made the air pleasant.
We paddled down to just south of the Hamilton House, and stopped for the light lunch that Sue had put up before we left the house. It was so nice to just sit in the kayaks, bobbing around in the river ripples, and having such a wonderful expanse of beauty surrounding us.
We got back home around 4:30, showered up, and hit the deck for some wine and backgammon with dinner around 7:00 pm of pizza. It was a little hot running the oven, but we had the air conditioner going the whole time and ate out on the deck so didn't notice it at all. And, the air had changed to a much more pleasant 74 degrees by that time, so not so bad out there.
The movie of the night was the interesting and engaging 2003 The Snow Walker. I just had to watch the entire 'how they made it' feature as the movie was just so compellingly well done.
