[Paddlewise] RE: [Paddlewise] Liverpool to Amsterdam

> -----Original Message-----
> From: MJAkayaker_at_aol.com [mailto:MJAkayaker_at_aol.com]
> Sent: Thursday, March 02, 2000 1:12 PM
> To: PaddleWise_at_lists.intelenet.net
> Subject: [Paddlewise] Liverpool to Amsterdam Trip (long)
> 
> 
> The storms in the North Sea were raging furiously.

  snip of a wonderfully descriptive piece of writing

> 
> If you live in a place where you can paddle with whales and 
> sea lions or  
> enjoy  magnificent scenery on a daily basis I envy you. If 
> you don't, I hope 
> you can find a nearby place like Chocolate Bayou.  Paddle 
> often and enjoy how 
> the area changes with the seasons.  Look for and enjoy those 
> simple little 
> events and views.  Don’t pass up an opportunity to enjoy 
> those larger than 
> life encounters, but  don’t wait for one before you do any paddling.
> 
> MJAkayaker_at_aol.com
> Mark J. Arnold

Mark,

  Thanks for the great piece of writing and taking us all along with you on
a special journey down the bayou - I could practically smell the deep rich
scents of a southern afternoon.  
  I'm one of those lucky folks who _does_ live in a place where calving
glaciers, deep fjords and towering peaks, humpback whales, orcas, seals,
brown bears and eagles are common sights, but I still find wonder and joy in
the simple things too.  Paddling in and of itself takes me immediately away
from the troubles and stress of everyday life; there's magic in being on the
water - a calm and quiet that wrap around me like a favorite blanket on a
cold night.  Watching a kingfisher or a heron patiently plying its trade
along a quiet shoreline or watching as a beaver industriously makes its way
through the lengthening shadows on a summer eve bring a different kind of
smile to my soul than the thrill of watching a bald eagle swoop out of the
sky to take a salmon or watching as a huge fin slices through the water
yards away, but neither has greater value than the other. 
  (and yes, I will admit, even our local lake has a glacier - Juneau is a
really, really tough place to live if you love the outdoors <grin> 'course
it does rain here just a little bit)

Dave Seng
Juneau, Alaska
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