Saturday, we got our first taste of the coming summer: the temps were in the 90s and it was very humid. So, decided we'd throw the kayaks onto the car and head off somewhere. We weren't exactly sure where that would be, but with the weather station predicting a continuation of the heat and humidity, Sue wanted to be out on the water, somewhere; anywhere.

By 10:00am we had the kayaks loaded on top of the car and all the gear stowed in the trunk and back seats. First up, though, was a quick stop at a local SubWay to pick up sandwiches and chips for lunch as we knew we'd be out there for quite awhile.

We ended up launching at the French Cross Road bridge at the Northeast tip of the Bellamy Reservoir. We had originally wanted to launch from the Hook Mill Road area where we had been 07/08 but got turned around on the back roads and wound our way over to the French Cross Road bridge. And that was fine because we had been here last year on 06/24 and had a great time.

When we paddled out of the little cove at the launch area, things cooled off considerably from a really fresh breeze that was rippling the water.

We took our time exploring all along the eastern shore of the north branch until we got to the point where the river begins to really narrow and become more water grasses than open water. Sue found a nice little shady tree covered spot on the west side of the branch where we stopped for lunch and just relax.

We paddled back along the west shore and then cut across to the eastern side to a twisted birch tree that had grown out over the water and parked there for awhile before heading back to the launch area and home.

After unloading everything and getting showered, we just parked it out on the deck to sip some wine and play backgammon. We were both pretty tired, so, before we headed off to bed, we decided to watch the movie adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Last Tycoon.