Nomad Life - Day 2

The late night and wine helped me to sleep pretty well last night and I was happy to have reached 0630 before I felt like getting out of bed.  Since it was a Saturday, I could afford to relax; before starting my day officially, I relaxed with reading, puzzles and Duolingo.  After that, some of the "responsible" and "must be efficient" thoughts arrived - subsequently, I went through several bags I'd brought in from the car and reordered them, removing some items and noting things I'd left back in the storage unit.  Hopefully, the next few weeks in New England will give me enough indication of what I forgot (versus what I might need to buy) that I won't feel nervous about heading much farther afield during my Van Life...  In any case, I tried to get as much organizing and repacking work done as I could before my brother-in-law (John) returned from his workout at the gym.  By about 0900, I came upstairs, got a shower and then started getting my gear together for a kayaking trip we'd planned on the North River.  Once our kayaks were on the roof and the paddling gear was onboard (1015), John drove me to the Marshfield Launch (boat ramp near Union Street Bridge).  We got there at about 1030 and, 15 minutes later, had launched our boats.  In many ways, this was a repeat paddle from a trip I took with my sister's family and Mollie a few years ago - I recalled it being a tough trip because of the tricky tides on the river. Thankfully, John had checked the tide cycles beforehand and we were treated with a wonderful downriver current!  The weather was wonderful (low 70s, sunny, slightly breezy) and we were surrounded by SO many birds!  The current carried us quickly towards Roht Marine and we reached it in only about 60 minutes.  Up until this point, we'd considered calling Katie for a ride.  However, an older gentleman in a boat just before we completed our (3ish mile) paddle asked "why don't you just wait for the tide to shift and then ride the current back upriver?"  We decided to ponder this while waiting in the Marina's little riverside "clam shack".  From about 1155 to 1235, we enjoyed a delicious lunch (pastrami sandwich for me and tuna salad sandwich for John) from a table on the deck above the water and we watched many boaters (including one party boat full of people dressed like pirates) headed in and out.  We even got to try a nice beer from Nantucket (Gripah).  Meanwhile, the current did, in fact, start to slowly shift towards slack tide.  This sealed the deal - we decided to take advantage of the situation and got back in the kayaks for a paddle towards the ocean.  This wasn't as easy as the earlier trip downriver but we got to see the high tidal flats, floating lobster shacks, the narrow channel through a rocky gauntlet at Damon's Point, the Fourth Cliff Family Recreation Area and lots more birds (altogether, I'd estimate we saw about 25-30 species, including several I'd never seen in the wild).  We made it almost as far as the New Inlet (perhaps one mile beyond Roht Marine) but then decided to turn around, preserving some energy for the task of returning to the car.  We experimented with a shallow channel that had a noticeable current but ended up grounding the kayaks for a while (20ish minutes) while we waited for the tide to rise higher.  We had a front row seat for the tidal inundation and it was quite impressive.  Once we'd passed Damon's Point again (1400), we saw a completely different view of the (now covered) tidal flats and docks that had risen with the water.  We soon passed the MA-3A bridge (and Roht Marine) and were joined by other folks in kayaks, stand up paddleboards, rowboats and canoes in trying to use the tidal assist.  Birds were still everywhere and the number of boats full of happy people continued to increase.  With all the work we'd been doing to get to/from, our arms were definitely tired as we rounded the last bend of the tidal channel and spotted the Union Street Bridge (1530).  Feeling a bit of accomplishment, we loaded up John's car again and made our way (via MA-123 and Neal Gate Street) to MA-3A - John wanted to see if the current had increased in strength but we didn't see evidence of that.  After that, we drove back to Katie's house (arrived at about 1600) and were there in time to visit (and play) with little Gigi until her dad (Dan) arrived to get her.  My sister and I talked for a while and then she and John fired up the grill so they could cook dinner, which ended up being some steak-burgers I'd brought from New Hampshire.  While eating, there was lots more visiting and talking until John departed for another music gig (the same one as last night).  When Katie decided to go shopping at Market Basket (2030), I cleaned up and identified some more items for my list of "forget in the storage unit" until Katie and John were back.  After that, I went for a soak in the hot tub to cap off a great day.  I went to bed at about 2215 so I'd be ready for the extremely early wake up: I've got a trip to Boston with Gerard!