Saturday, July 14, 2018 - West Neck Creek
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Since the weather forecast was for the temps to be not as hot, I decided to do something a little different and launch in the mid-afternoon rather than mid-morning. I decided to launch at the West Neck Marina and paddle on West Neck Creek.
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West Neck Marina is a nice little launching spot right on Indian River Road in Virginia Beach. They have an regular concrete boat ramp for the powerboats, but they also have a cleared area with a sandy beach to launch kayaks.
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As I was launching, several powerboats were queuing to come in from the water. This would portend there not being very many boats on the water while I was out.
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Since I was paddling westward on the creek and the time of day, I was paddling right into the sun for most of the way going out. What that meant for the pictures I took on that stretch is that the light was very different from most other paddles I've done. The trees being backlit created an interesting silhouette.
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I saw and heard lots of fish jumping all along the way. And of course, birds along the creek. Osprey, herons, egrets, red-winged blackbirds, gulls, and probably others. I saw a few turtles but not as many as in other places. Most of this creek is fairly open and not much cover.
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There were TONS of dragonflies out. On the main creek and especially on the small creeks. They were everywhere. At one point, I stopped to take a picture with my phone of the reflection of the trees, and a dragonfly LANDED ON MY PHONE CASE!!! Of course, I couldn't move to pick up my regular camera, so all I could do is enjoy the moment. Very cool.
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This was a nice, calm peaceful paddle. As I assumed, there was not much boat traffic on the creek at all.
2 hours and 30 minutes on the water and 4.3 miles on the GPS. Scroll below the pictures to see the track map.
