Lyme, NH (USA)

After work today (1645), I drove from my condo up to the Lyme Congregational Church so I could attend a talk by Ben Kilham, of the Kilham Bear Center.  Since I moved to the Upper Valley, I've been hearing about him - glad I finally had a chance to attend one of his presentations tonight!  The parking in Lyme quite limited because the venue was packed - I felt quite privileged to have been able to get inside.  Ben shared great stories, close up photos, unique videos and interesting scientific facts about our ursine neighbors.  Very glad to have been able to have this awesome experience before departing New Hampshire.  Afterwards (1800), I headed south again on NH-10 and stopped at Wilson's Landing for an evening paddle.  The local kids (including some Dartmouth students) were hard at work with their Crew practice - there were a LOT of boats.  Somehow, I found a place to park... My goal this evening was to test out an inflatable kayak that I've had since about 2019.  Some backstory: just before Mollie (my daughter) graduated from high school, she called me one afternoon to ask if I wanted another kayak.  I forget what I actually answered but, a few days later, a big orange bag appeared at my apartment.  This happened not too long before I moved to New Hampshire and the kayak ended up in my storage shed.  I kept seeing it and thinking “I really need to check to see if it’s good for paddling.”  Until today, though, I’d never even looked inside the bag.  Fortunately, my curiosity this evening was rewarded with a successful launch of my Advanced Elements Airframe Inflatable Kayak (1830)!  It was tough going on the rough Connecticut River waters so I only stayed out for about 30 minutes (one mile).  After reaching shore again, I decided that I'll need to learn a bit more about assembling and stowing it.  Regardless, I think this boat could be a more compact alternative to Tequila Sunrise - I should be able to use it when I'm traveling the country without guarantee I'll find parking (i.e., no roof rack needed).  Made it home by 1915 and let Mollie know her acquisition was a success.  Now to figure out how to dry it completely...