Summer on the River

Summer involves spending many sunny afternoons on the river for us. Whether it's walking along the edge with tasty ice cream cones or kayaking around all the bends of the river, basking in the sun, we both love spending time on the water.

I love the anticipation of loading up our kayaks, mixing nalgene bottles of iced tea, and packing towels and suntan lotion.

One of my favorite parts about where we live is that within fifteen minutes of deciding we want to go down to the river, we are actually down on the river. Meandering along the shore, gliding underneath sweeping tree branches and enjoying the sparkly sunshine.

And while there are definitely houses on the river, they are far and few in between, and the river is full of beautiful flowers, green grasses, and lots of wildlife everywhere we look.

This little area is on the edge of one of the family farms and there are chairs tucked underneath a shady tree, the cows wander by the edge of the fence, and if you look closely...

...you can see the swing they have tied together. And just look at that beautiful blue sky over the field.

The expanses of bright green river grasses are so pretty; I love hearing the breezes rush through them, whistling and sending flocks of little tiny birds swooping in and out of the lush fields.

We have so much fun just paddling down the river, chatting about everything and nothing.

Soaking up the sun...

and feeling oh so grateful for perfect summer days like this.

I love how the river changes as we go along it, rising and falling with the tide. We start out at the end of the river and usually end up "almost" at the ocean. We've made it completely to the end once, but we usually turn around at the bay, where the waves get choppy and the water gets deep, MILES away from where we start.

Time passes so quickly while out kayaking, it seems like only an hour and we'll find that when we return to our truck, tired and happy, it is several hours later and the sun is usually setting.

It is views like this that make us say, "Let's just go around one more bend...just one more."

There are not many things that I enjoy more than a day on the river...

...loving the beauty and calmness of the flow of the water...

...and honestly, spending it with the love of my life is what makes it over the top wonderful. :)