Hardy Crew

    We arrived in Phoenix around noon dressed for the summer weather that it had been earlier that morning. It was a shock to discover the suddenly frigid temperature and nasty wind that chilled to the bones. It wasn’t even cold war; it was a stealth and active assault by Cold Front! As we huddled together in the parking lot draped in beach towels, blankets, sweatshirt and coats, we entertained a tempting idea of forgoing the paddle in favor of staying warm somewhere indoors. The inertia continued well past our designated launch time until one paddler said to another: “I’ll go if you go.” That did the trick, and we all went. Almost all: Phyllis, Dave, Tim, Patty, Cindy and Rick, Hugh, Aneta and Robert. One person retreated home, and Kim, not having the right clothing assortment to brave the cold, took on a role of a VILA (Very Important Launching Assistant). She helped us in and out of our kayaks, waited for us to return safely like a good mother hen, took pictures, and joined us for dinner.

    Oswego River was foaming at the mouth, well, surface. The dam was partially open, which seemed to have generated the rich white foam. It was wavy. The water was incredibly warm and was steaming lightly causing thin mist. You could feel its warmth just by putting your hands close to the surface. Undoubtedly it was warmer underneath the surface than above it, but no one volunteered to test. We kayaked towards Oswego for 3 miles against the wind but with the current, then turned around and surfed back – with the wind but against the current. The cold wasn’t so bad once in a kayak, and we enjoyed chatting with fellow paddlers throughout the duration of our trip.

    We caravanned to Edgewater Grill for dinner, where we not only enjoyed mouth-watering burgers, but also beer that was cheaper than soda. You can’t beat that!