Kayaking the York River

The York River, Wiggley Bridge, and Barrell Mill Pond

For the past four years, my wife and I have been enjoying a new hobby - kayaking. But when we bought our vacation home in Maine, we temporarily put aside the kayaking and concentrated on long walks and the beach. We promised ourselves that we would find a place in Maine to use the kayaks, but never got around to it.

A few weeks ago, I finally mounted the roof racks on my car, strapped up the kayaks, and brought them north.

On a quiet Sunday morning, near high tide, we brought the kayaks to the York Town Dock #1, put in, and spent a wonderful couple of hours on the York River.

The York River is a tidal river running inland from the York Harbor. You can put in on the York Town Dock off of Harris Island Road, right next to the commercial fishermen and lobster boats.

We quickly crossed the York River and paddled under the Wiggley Bridge. The bridge is a famous, 80-year-old miniature suspension bridge (the "smallest suspension bridge in the world?") which is part of a scenic, fun walk into Steedman's Woods. As we paddled under, we said "Hello" to the folks fishing from it, and into Barrel Mill Pond. Barrell Mill is a tidal pond with some beautiful houses lining the shore. A few fish, a few turtles, and a few birds were in the water with us, and a lot of sun.

After making the trip around the pond, we headed back into the river and paddled inland for a while. We got to see more fishing and lobster boats, more beautiful houses and docks, and a lot of seabirds sunning themselves.

We paddled back toward the harbor and past some boats returning from the ocean. They were all courteous and careful with their wake. I nudged out into the open water to see what that was like, but quickly turned around as the current was rather strong.

We spent a few minutes more paddling around the beautiful boats and docks, watching boats being launched from the nearby marina, and then, since the current started to get stronger, we headed back to shore.

It was a wonderful way to spend a Sunday morning. I can't wait to get out again!

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This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality

	My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance. I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing. Find me at http://AllThingsQuality.com/.