Regatta race and Baltimore weekend wicked fun

I had a wicked good time at the 12th Annual AWS Paddlesport Regatta. I didn’t win a trophy or the 21-speed hybrid Trek bike, but I had a wicked good time assisting paddlers and event volunteers. The best part was seeing my partners-in-crime, aka the Anacostia River Rats. Any chance of friends reconnection, I’m there in a heartbeat. The race was a great success. Thanx to everyone who participated and helped at the historic BWP marina. Despite the dreadful sediment buildup by the bike bridge, we were blessed with the high tide and the gorgeous weather. Just south of the Anacostia River on each side is a small forest mixed with deciduous trees with some white pines. The Quercus and Acers are changing colors. The infamous poison ivy vines had dropped their berries and now had turned vibrant red. Wednesday’s cold front, unfortunately, did not bring many wildlife critters on the river. But on Saturday, the day of the Regatta race, the sun was bright, the sky was blue and the humidity was low, so the whole autumn day was simply beautiful. KT and I saw a 12 lbs. red fox at the bank of the river, and the paddlers were treated with the bald eagle hovering above us with a flock of sea gulls.

Right after the race, WH and I borrowed two sea-kayaks and paddled four miles down the river. We first saw a few cormorants diving for fish and taking flight off from the water. WH, a New Hampshirian, was proud to see the Great Blue Heron walking on the mudflats. There were red ear sliders basking in the sun on a tree log and a whole bunch more seagulls at the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. And yes, we did see and hear the Canada geese honking as we paddled pass the Langston Golf course. We joked that the Pepco power plant was a great sight for the environment with dark smoke puffing out of the pipe towers. At any rate, this is obviously not a full report of the Regatta and the A River because I did not take any pictures. I just bought a 5.0 mp Panasonic digital camera, but I didn’t take it along – still afraid that I might lose this one in the river. I’m sure AWS and other newspaper crews document the race well. My excuse: I had too much fun to take pictures. Grrr, a certain energy geek left without saying goodbye, which was kinda a bummer. Then again, he had better things to do, so does everyone else.

Immediately after we put our kayaks back on the rack in the marina, I head up to check on my soon-mother-to-be friend in Baltimore. We talked for hours and met up with some folks at a house party. I took a shot of straight cognac and almost fainted. I started to sing but failed miserably because I just couldn’t remember the words. I had a wicked good visit and sleepover until the part about my social/marital life status came up. The End.

Came Sunday, I drove back to the DC area to work at the salon. The first words came out from my favorite technician, MN, was “where were you yesterday? We thought you quit or got fired. Why didn’t you call? What were you doing?” (all in Vietnamese, of course). Before I could respond, my face blushed and surprised that some people cared about my whereabouts. I know, I know – I can be such a biatch sometimes, and say the wrong things all the time, but I do appreciate the sentiment. By the way, I did get fired once at a job. It was an internship, no biggie.

Disclaimer: When I said, “I had a wicked good time”, I meant it, not like “staying the course” symbol for out of touch that Dubya had been trying to explain. Say what you really mean.