A while back I donated to the East Haddam Land Trust as an entry fee of sorts to a casual ride put on by Ronnie Romance, and I never unsubscribed from their mailing list because all the stuff they do is very cool. After a few months of checking out their monthly newsletter from afar, Morgan and I headed down early on a bright Sunday morning for a casual paddle on the Salmon River. We met just beyond the long-abandoned Sunrise Resort and dropped kayaks in the still water.
The few other folks in attendance were kind and friendly, and we had a great time slowly making our way down towards where the Salmon River meets the Connecticut (and takes its name) and then back again. We passed some quaint houses at the bottom of the steep riverbank but mostly were greeted on both sides by reeds and grasses and trees.
Our morning wasn’t particularly monumental or earth shattering but was a nice reminder that small and simple outings are perhaps the most important kind of adventure. Big things are fun because of the anticipation leading up to a climactic payoff, but it can be exhausting to live in the space between these metaphorical and sometimes literal peaks.
The best thing I can do for myself is to just go and do. I initially wrote that sentence in second person, but that isn’t the point of this digital journal. I’m not a public figure and I don’t anticipate anyone reading these words after I click the magenta publish button. My thoughts and motivations exist solely to give me purpose, and everything beyond that is secondary.