Floating out in my kayak as the sun slips behind the hills on the last day of August is a little bit sad. I shivered as I crossed the line out of the sun into the dark waters below the bluffs. Summer my friends, is gone. Sure, we’ll get some nice sunny warm days. Truth be told, the cool air, kaleidoscope colored world is beautiful. In the fall the world takes on depth. It often seems propped up like a groundrow before the deep blue backdrop of the autumn sky. Lot’s great paddling days ahead. In fact even the cold windy, rain & sleet days promise for some exciting and fantastically sensual days on the water. There is a lot to be said for autumn. Although as Silbs mentioned, for some of us begins a constant battle with melancholy and depression. Expect future posts of dime store, literary suicide in the coming months. I was looking back at last years posts and realized that September was fine, then in October was when the fickle musings really began. Good Thing I had the symposium in Georgia to break it up.

But alas, this year I can’t make Georgia. Well, unless my two Milwaukee buddies would get off their duffs and do a road trip!! Too bad to. It’s a BCU coach-athon this year. Like almost everyone you could think of will be attending; Jeff Allen, Steve Braden, Peter Bray, Nigel Dennis, Phil Eccles, Russell Farrow, Hadas Feldman, Nigel Foster, Lamar Hudgins, Ronnie Kemp, Jen Kleck, Ben Lawry, Jed Luby, Steve Maynard, Chris Mitchell, Danny Mongno, Kristin Nelson, Tom Nickels, Cheri Perry, Simon Osborne, Mel Rice, Nige Robinson, Ollie Sanders, Mark Schoon, Jean Totz , Fiona Whitehead, Dale Williams, Turner Wilson, Todd Wright. . . Notice you don’t see MR. RW or JC on this list but still. . . .

The main reason I don’t do the Georgia trip solo this year is that my heart is set on Anglesey in May of 07. (symposium dates May 5-11th) Something that seems at this moment to be pretty much a given. I can’t find a good way to make Georgia as well without robbing a bank or sharing costs. But it’s more than a fair trade off. I’m sure I’ll write more about this mammoth adventure in the coming months. Right now it’s too far off to seem real to me. I know the thought of the tidal races has me scared at bit. I keep hearing Keith W. telling me out on the wolf, “You know those races are going to be much bigger than this !!”, “Yeah, I know Keith, thanks. . .”. I’m nervous about 5* training. Yeah, even training. . . And I wonder if I can fit in any coach training or assessments in there as well. (that is if the BCU would tolerate my coaching abilities. . .) Then I’m thinking I need some free time to explore. . . I’d like some quiet time to paddle a couple days with friends. Then there are those Rockpool kayaks to paddle, hills to climb, pubs to visit. . . Arggggg!! You see the thing is, every time I’ve taken trips in my life I’m always so conscious that they could be the last. I want to soak it in. Not in a touristy run around like maniac way, but like trying to hold on to that dream you were having right before you wake up. It’s a feeling of desperation. It could be just sitting on a hill and staring out at the water forever just to try to lock up every sensation. Then add to the fact that going to the UK has been on my mind since I was like 10. It’s either a fixation or genetic or probably a bit of both. Well, we can save all this chatter for other days.

So If you think you might want to go to the Georgia Symposium you can get all the details at seakayakgeorgia.com. Silbs & JB can just call me if they want to road trip. I’ve got two tents. and my jeep can carry 3 kayaks. Gas prices are going down. . .

You can click to enlarge the image below. Mr. Commerant stopped by the lake on his way to Florida. He was kind enough to visit with me for awhile and let me take his picture. Thank you Mr. C!