There are no bicycles involved in this post.  None.  Instead, our personal transports today were kayaks!  It’s quite cool being a (temporary) family of six — two daughters at 15 and 19, along with a nephew and friend, both 17, both visiting from Spain.  We spent yesterday in the city; today we devoted to the water.

In phase I, we rented kayaks in the Tarrytown lakes for a ‘beginner’s’ run.  Despite the grandiose name, this is really a small reservoir.  You could practically throw a rock from one side to the other.  Traffic hummed along on one side, while the other was full of walkers, joggers, and cyclists.  Despite the tame environs, we had fun getting our various rhythms.  Married team in one kayak, girls in the second, boys in the third.  We were there early, so the younger ones went out first, ended first, and then ate all the food.  Luckily, the married crew are trying to eat less!

We hit the highway from Tarrytown and crossed the river, descending into Piermont for Phase II.  In Paradise Cove, we finally got a chance to launch our own kayak, a sit-on-top double.  The boys took this one while the rest rented two more doubles and practiced our paddling technique.  This was a much wilder trip, as we wove our way through the salt marsh to get to the open water and then down the Hudson for a bit.  My wife, skittish in canoes, loved the kayaks —  even as the swells and the wind knocked us around a bit.

The whole day was a delight.  I’m typing this up in a totally quiet house — everyone else has gone to bed!  Here’s a photo of the girls out on the river, just south of Piermont.  My dad has a ton of old photos and postcards that have this vintage look.  They don’t feature many plastic kayaks, though.  :-)

girls on the river