Potsdam, NY (USA)

[woke up at 0600 (after a restless sleep) - ate breakfast with Robin and nice conversation afterwards - drove west, through Potsdam, and stopped in the town of Hannawa Falls, where I met Eileen, Matt and Scott at Postwood Beach (0845) - they had four kayaks (all Epic type of various sizes) - this was a very new experience for me - we also met Roger on the lake and then spent about 1.5 hours paddling - I was in an Epic V7 that was pretty "tippy" - I guess I’ve been viewing kayaks the wrong way all my life - the boat was nearly twice as long and half as wide as what I’d ever tried - it took lots of balance and foot coordination for steering needed but boy did she glide on the water - despite the instability of the kayak, I never fell in the water - my back hurt a bit and I got a good workout - this type of sleek kayak makes that one I was planning on buying seem like a canoe by comparison (I might be spoiled now) - after we were done (1015), I stayed to talk to Matt for a while - I'd expected to have about another hour before I met Eileen for lunch - however, she texted at 1045 that she was already at the Village Diner - so, I headed there and we enjoyed some good food and conversation - after we finished (1215), she took me to her (new to me) house and showed me around - we talked for a bit longer and I left for home at 1330 - US-11 stopped for gas in Gouverneur (1410) and then got on I-81 - more rain, with some really bad near Scranton - good ride (no stops) all the way to Pine Grove, where I got more gas (1845) - made pretty good time all the way and thought I could break my all-time record by using I-83 - this turned out to be a huge mistake and I was in a big traffic jam (completely stopped) near York - even after I made it through, the traffic was thick for the rest of the way home - I-695, I-95, I-495 - a big rock (from an 18-wheeler in front of me on the Beltway) hit my windshield but I didn't see any damage - still got home by 2145, which was just over 8 hours after I'd left Potsdam - even found a parking spot! - unpacked and got ready for the new work week]