Since I absolutely prefer tropical beaches with palm trees to concrete canyons, it was out of a sense of motherly guilty that I went up for a five-day visit. After four years in New York, my son felt it was mother's turn to visit him. Fortunately, I had arranged to call Ralph Diaz the day after arrival which I did, and we made plans to meet at the now-famous Downtown Boathouse. We skirted Lady Liberty (it was 10:30 a.m. and they had already reached the day's limit for ascent), and went ashore to see the Ellis Island Museum. What I expected to be a one-hour tour took us 3 1/2 (the Tom Brokaw audio-cassette guided tour was excellent) hours and we could have easily spent another half hour but had to rush for our rendez-vous with Ralph. For me the piece de resistance was actually sitting on the same "hard, wooden benches" that the immigrants sat on while they waited to see what their fate would be. After so much introspection and "heavy" touring, it was absolutely fabulous to get out on the water. There's a huge power-boat-free (Ralph said it was approximately the size of five football fields) area where visitors (equipment use is FREE) can paddle around. The swells were very noticeable. We went on a double SOT, and then I paddled Ralph's K-Light while my son went on a single. I felt as if I had cheated (You went to NYC and went kayaking?) and got away with it. Kind of like beating the system. Oodles of folding kayaks stored on the racks... Meeting Ralph was like running into an old friend. Delightful and ever so congenial. The volunteers who helped us were equally friendly. This is an incredible freebie that requires a lot of time and money for the boats and ancillary equipment. CONGRATULATIONS AND THANKS TO ALL THE DOWNTOWN BOATHOUSE MEMBERS. Another "heavy" moment was seeing JFK Jr.'s and his wife's boats. They had been wrapped and were chained to a post pending instructions from the estate administrators. Ralph, I promise it was not planned, but I must admit that having the occasion to visit your apartment to pick up my watch was another bonus. Loved looking over your books and seeing the lovely balcony. Many thanks. You and your wife are more than welcome to stay with me in Miami. Lots of wide open spaces...from the back deck! We visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art and OD'd on the incredible array of art treasures. The Egyptian exhibit was awesome, as were the Tiffany collection and, my favorite, impressionist paintings. Saw the IMAX presentation of the Old Man and the Sea. After an introductory bio on Hemingway, we watched the story unfold from animated paintings!! Did lots of walking and getting around via subway and taxi - thorughly exhausting. Most of the last three days were spent helping my son paint his apartment (I was prepared). We really had a lot of "quality" time together and it was absolutely wonderful. He is 26 (my daughter is 31 but I keep telling her to lie about her age - makes me seem old - NOT!!!) and great company. We painted through recordings of Evita and Les Miz and he explained them to me. I have seen both stage productions, but he could explain each song/scene. When he comes to Miami he's usually off with his friends to SoBe (South Beach) and we spend less time together. BTW, I was able to check my messages - Paddlewise mail is approximately 50-60 a day!! I really had to do a lot of deleting even knowing that sometimes the subject line and the content have diverged! Happy paddles... Sandy Kramer Miami, Florida *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Sandykayak_at_aol.com wrote: > > Since I absolutely prefer tropical beaches with palm trees to concrete > canyons, it was out of a sense of motherly guilty that I went up for a > five-day visit. After four years in New York, my son felt it was mother's > turn to visit him. > > Fortunately, I had arranged to call Ralph Diaz the day after arrival which I > did, and we made plans to meet at the now-famous Downtown Boathouse. It was great having Sandy and her son Steven drop by for a bit of paddling in the embayment area of the Downtown Boathouse. I am only sorry that she didn't take me up on my offer to paddle out into the harbor and around the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island which she visited by tour boat instead. You can't land by kayak (or any other private craft except by autorized tour ferries) on either of this national landmarks. The views of the city skyline are fabulous. You can get them from the tour ferry but there is nothing like bouncing around in the harbors choppy waters and seeing all that grandeur with eyeballs just two feet above the waters' surface. Sandy also missed out on the wedding that was taking place just an hour or so after she and Steven left. Two people who had met at the Downtown Boathouse's free public kayak program last year decided to get hitched and to do so in kayaks in the embayment. They were a lovely couple sitting in a double kayak while friends read parts of the marriage ceremony from the fantail of a small sailboat. The bride and groom were in paddling top clothes but most of the guests were in their finery, which looked pretty much out of place in the wet sitting wells of the sit-on-top kayaks. My wife and I witnessed the event in singles (hmmm, what does that say about married life! :-)). A final image was at the end of it all when the boats had all been put away in their slots in the Boathouse. From the grimy back area that doubles as a changing room, emerged the bride now dressed in a lovely wedding gown and off for the more formal event. Again it was fun meeting Sandy. Steven also seems to have gotten in the swing of things. While his mom was out in the K-Light and he was waiting for a single SOT to become available, he pitched in as a volunteer helping others of the public in and out of the free kayaks. I have a hunch that he and his friends will be back to enjoy this great opportunity and to help out. The experience is contagious. ralph diaz -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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