Not much to report this month.
The truck went in the auto body shop and stayed there for several weeks while they dickered with the insurance company on what work was required. Before leaving Maine I hit a tree at 3 mph and 2 days later got clipped by a hit and run while backing out of a parking space. It took a long time to get the truck back but it looks like new now. I hope to get another few thousand miles out of it.
The 'man pain' I complained about all summer turned out to be a hernia so I went into another body shop to get that fixed. Not fun! I hope to get another few thousand miles out of the old body now, too. It was a couple of weeks by the time I saw all the doctors, surgeons, etc. and got medical releases and stuff and another couple of weeks for recovery.
I got out on the Delaware River a couple of times and out on the Delaware Bay once before the operation. Contrary to my expectations, the bottom of the kayak didn't corrode and drop out from under me because of polluted river water. I found an easy put in on the New Jersey shore directly across from the Philadelphia Navy Yard. There were a couple of battleships, destroyers and what appeared to be a couple of baby aircraft carriers docked there. Other than that, both shores were mostly oil refineries and such.
The Delaware Bay shoreline was all marshland and the sameness, after paddling in Maine all summer, left me unimpressed. The only thing of note was the fear of high tide coming in and cutting my truck off from the mainland and even that didn't happen, although I had some serious doubts.
I'm mobile now and have the truck back but still have to get stitches out next Monday. I've been cooped up these past weeks with barking dogs, video games at full volume, screaming women and an advanced Alzheimer patient babbling day and night and it's time to get away for a few days.
As soon as I post this summary I'm heading for the Delaware Water Gap area in northwestern New Jersey for a few days. This is the first year in a long time I've missed the fall foliage in the New Hampshire White Mountains and I'm hoping this little trip will make up for it somewhat. I'll just be doing some camping and some easy hiking, trying to regain some of the strength in my legs and getting used to peace and quiet again.
After I get the stitches out I'll be off to the Chesapeake Bay. Cold weather will dictate how long I linger in Maryland and Virginia before pushing farther south. I hope to spend some time on the Virginia and North Carolina coasts paddling as well as do some hiking in the Appalachian and Great Smokey Mountains on their western borders. I'll spend most of the winter in Florida but don't want to get there until the temperatures fall to and remain in the 70's to avoid some of the mosquitoes.
Hopefully I'll have a little more to report near the end of November.