Alviso Marina County Park
Slough Review:
There were two boat launches, but one of the dock’s ballast was off, and it sagged into the water, so I didn’t go on that one. The other one worked perfectly.
There is no use fee, so it’s all free!
The place was very clean. Even the dock was free of algae, which was a first!
Highway 237 isn’t too far, so it wasn’t fully tranquil, but it was serene. Out in the water, the biggest noise makers were wildlife and train horns.
There are bathrooms, but it was on the other side of the park from the boat launch.
There was plenty of parking.
I had solid 5g connection the entire time on the Verizon network.
What I Learned:
I used a new hybrid paddle (carbon fiber shaft with fiberglass blade)—Aqua-Bound Manta Ray—for the first time and it proved it’s worth. It was the best paddling experience I’ve ever had with the paddle being so light and stiff. It made the entire outing much more pleasurable. The only con I saw was that the large paddle splashed more than the older paddles I was used to, but on a hot day like today, it was a bonus cooling feature.
It had been more than six months since the last time I went out on a kayak, but everything just worked perfectly.
I only saw four different kinds of birds versus the dozen or more I saw at Elkhorn Slough. That led to me having a more laid-back paddle, as I just enjoyed the tranquility and picked up the camera less.
I wore my tech pants and my windbreaker—they worked well, with their water resistance allowing me to stay dry.
Media Consumed:
Invisible Women
What Happened?
4 miles, 1 hr 24 mins, 0 mph (wind)
I’m dealing with some nagging minor injuries below the waist, so I decided to go kayaking on my company holiday. After dropping my girls off at their school, I packed up my kayak and headed to Alviso.
Although it had been six months since I last kayaked, I was able to setup the kayak efficiently, and I was in the water within 15 minutes. Because of high tide, the water the flowing from the bay into the slough (at a pretty fast rate), but even with me padding against the direction of the flow, the boat felt fast and I felt strong.
I was weary of the time I had since I had to pick up my kids, so I just paddled out two miles and came back with pictures of birds. I did paddle much faster on the return journey (or at least it felt like it), even though I was going against the flow in both directions due to the tide.