Seven of us met on the beach at Alamitos Bay on Sunday, May 18th, for an 8:30 a.m. launch. Kirsten and Justin, our friends from Houston were visiting for the weekend. Ken and I met them on a kayaking trip in the San Juan Islands a couple of years ago. Sharon & Howard and Chuck Fowler also joined us. As we were getting ready to launch we ran into Dez (Dez belongs to the Valley Kayak Club), so he decided to join us, too. Luckily for us, Chuck lives in Long Beach and knows a lot about the area. He served as our tour guide. We headed out of the channel and turned toward the Queen Mary. Chuck provided interesting information about the small islands, oil rigs and wildlife. We chatted, laughed and had a good time. As we neared the Queen Mary, Chuck suggested landing at Long Beach. Since there was no surf, it was a very easy landing. Kirsten, Sharon, and I decided to go to the public restrooms. Big mistake....we walked at least a quarter of a mile only to discover that the restrooms were unusable. The return trip was uneventful. It was pretty hot, however. With a lot of pleasure boaters and skidoos, the water was a little choppy as we neared the entrance to the channel. The beach was packed with kids and sunbathers when we returned. Just as we were getting ready to head for lunch, the Edith group (Ken, Duane, Steve W., Bob M. and Mark) returned. Chuck took us to a great little diner down the street called "Chuck's." No, it wasn't his restaurant, but they sold shirts and hats his name on them. It was a great day on the water with good friends. We paddled around 10 nm according to my GPS. We're lucky to have such nice places to paddle! Submitted by: Barb Tomita **************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family favorites at AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001) *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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