Alexandria May 2016

We visited the Bordelons in Alexandria earlier this month. We went to attend the christening of Nick and Sarah and Toby's convalidation, but as usual we did a lot of other things while we were there. Friday we all went across the river to National Harbor.  It was a rainy day, so we didn't spend a lot of time there, but we had lunch and rode the giant Ferris Wheel.

It was pretty rainy but Nick didn't mind when he was snuggled up with Sarah.

After lunch Sarah and I went with Clare to ballet and Calvin and Garrett played trains and trucks. We came home a delicious dinner that Toby cooked for the assembled Bordelon/Smith extended families.

Saturday we started out with two soccer games and then a there was a trip to the park for Clare and Garrett while Sarah and I got pedicures.

And after all that fun we headed to the church for Sarah and Toby's convalidation ceremony, which was a very nice renewal of vows and they still looked like happy newly weds after nearly nine years.

This was followed by Nick's christening, where Nick's cries might have outdone Alice's at her blessing.

Dan Higginson was Nick's godfather and he made a one day trip from New Jersey for the event. He showed off a little baby handling experience and announced that he and Margot are expecting their second son later this year.

Sunday we took a walk in a nature preserve along the Potomac.  Clare and Garret are intrepid hikers and adventurers.  It was a great place to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon. So fun to spend time with their family.

First kayak outing of 2016 Sacramento River

The last weekend in April we dusted off our kayak (literally dusted it off, it winters in Calvin's wood shop) and headed to Sacramento for a little kayaking.  Our kayak is not generally a river kayak, but the Sacramento River as it flows through Sacramento is pretty wide and placid.  We found a launch site on the American River Parkway just at the junction of the Sacramento and American River.

 
We came out of the little bay and turned right which was upstream on the Sacramento.  It really felt like the first paddle of the season and even though the current was light it was still there. It kind of felt like paddling through molasses.

We kayak on Lake Tahoe most of the time, so one thing we notice on a river is the variety of wildlife. Calvin counted 18 little goslings in this family.

We paddled along lots of big boats (at least bigger than our kayak) and saw a strange brown lump on one of the docks which turned out to be sea lions.  The we looked toward the river and there was one swimming beside us.

We paddled up to where we could see the I-80 bridge over the river and found a lovely sand bar to have our lunch on.

And that was where the camera battery died.  So we missed the heron pictures and the classic picture taken of Calvin from the top of my head. After lunch we turned around and floated with the current back to the junction of the rivers and dipped the nose of the canoe in the American River, which had a little more current and had a little less sediment. A beautiful afternoon and a good start to the season.