Paddling 'Round the Sun

I enjoy the art of writing. When I taught children, one of the best activities we did was write. Every day we would take time to put our thoughts down on paper. Writing this blog and my companion blog Ctories has been a very natural progression for me now that I no longer have a class of children to spur me on. It's one of the reasons why I post something nearly every day.

When I look back over the past year of writing, it serves to help me recall all the pleasures - both direct and indirect - that I have had being a blogger. For example, a year ago I was about to head off to Florida to paddle in places both known and unknown to me. It marked the beginning of my experiments using deck mounted video cameras to record the experience. On the return trip home, I stopped in and visited a number of fellow bloggers and kayakers, all of whom I now count as friends.

My blog then recorded my wonderful trip to Newfoundland last summer where I paddled on every coast and met some wonderful people, some of whom are also bloggers and kayakers: again more good friends. While there, I continued my video experiments and believe I made some improvements in composition and technique, especially in creating the Sailor's Island videos.

This past fall I recorded my impressions of paddling for 100 days in a row, every possible day. Again an interesting experience, the effects of which are still fresh. The paddler's retreat called Delmarva was another opportunity to meet friends new and old. I was glad to have the chance to chat with Freya Hoffmeister and wish her well in person on her round-about New Zealand adventure, now successfully completed. I witnessed a 'qajaq wedding' and filmed an interview with Adam Hansen, who is trying to make his career as a kayak guide in Aassiat, Greenland.

So, it's been a wonderful, fulfilling year, a paddle 'round the sun, one might call it. I couldn't have asked for a better trip! I feel very lucky to be celebrating my birthday today knowing that a new solar circumnavigation lies ahead. What will I be able to do to match the one just past? I can't wait to find out!