{"id":2299,"date":"2024-04-25T17:56:15","date_gmt":"2024-04-25T17:56:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graceffa.com\/?p=2299"},"modified":"2024-04-25T18:00:09","modified_gmt":"2024-04-25T18:00:09","slug":"a-morning-paddle-an-evening-paddle-and-nasa-in-between","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/graceffa.com\/?p=2299","title":{"rendered":"A Morning Paddle, an Evening Paddle and NASA in Between"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"2299\" class=\"elementor elementor-2299\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8b938fe e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"8b938fe\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;boxed&quot;}\" data-core-v316-plus=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-179c344 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"179c344\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.17.0 - 01-11-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-image{text-align:center}.elementor-widget-image a{display:inline-block}.elementor-widget-image a img[src$=\".svg\"]{width:48px}.elementor-widget-image img{vertical-align:middle;display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5817-1-768x1024.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large wp-image-2298\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5817-1-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5817-1-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5817-1-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5817-1-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5817-1-scaled.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8eb2433 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"8eb2433\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;boxed&quot;}\" data-core-v316-plus=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5e7780c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5e7780c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.17.0 - 01-11-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p>Our paddles are moving from hard to easy. This morning we had a nice loop paddle around an island on the Pokomoke and up Corker Creek. Right at the start we saw two bald eagles perched on a bare branched tree. They were stunning. My photo is not digitally zoomed in because I wanted the quality, but it is still easy to tell how large the birds are. One took flight and soared over us, as if to show off.<\/p><p>When I am lucky enough to see eagles, I always have the wry memory that Ben Franklin did not want this bird as our national symbol. The bald head of an eagle is an adaptation that many carrion birds have to avoid parasites as they are eating their \u201caged\u201d meals. In spite of its reputation as a \u201ctop\u201d predator, eagles would rather let other birds do the serious hunting. They swoop in a take what they want.<\/p><p>Better to not think too much about the symbolism and just enjoy viewing the enormity of the eagle. After all, if Ben Franklin had had his way, we\u2019d be seeing engraved turkeys on our money and as our symbol in other locations.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ff9480f e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"ff9480f\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;boxed&quot;}\" data-core-v316-plus=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-01bfc03 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"01bfc03\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5820-768x1024.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large wp-image-2296\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5820-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5820-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5820-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5820-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5820-scaled.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d1affd0 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"d1affd0\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;boxed&quot;}\" data-core-v316-plus=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9610d2e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9610d2e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The understory is flowering now, in early spring. Dogwood are white and especially visible. We were delighted to discover that the Eastern Shore of Virginia has a native azeala. The flowers are every bit as pretty as the cultivators, though packed less densly. Turtles were out in abundance in sunny spots on the emergent parts of logs in the water. Another first sighting was a beaver. One of our excellent guides saw it curled up in a root fall. It was actually a bit odd to see it during the day. The shaggy fur blended right in and it was hard to spot even when we knew were to look. My admiration for the guide who spotted it. It was not possible to photograph.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9d5ea98 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"9d5ea98\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;boxed&quot;}\" data-core-v316-plus=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d410df9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"d410df9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5837-768x1024.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large wp-image-2292\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5837-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5837-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5837-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5837-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5837-scaled.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-73fe428 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"73fe428\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;boxed&quot;}\" data-core-v316-plus=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-21a339e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"21a339e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The afternoon was completely different. We had several hours off, meaning no programmed activities. Mark and I headed over to Wallops Island Flight Center, the busiest rocket launch site that NASA has. It is a surprisingly big facility with a Navy personnel housed and stationed here as well. The rockets that are launched used to supply the international space station. At the moment, NASA launches sounding rockets for environmental and intelligence data collection. They also launch enormous weather balloons\u2014 several times larger than jets and many times taller than the Washington Monument. The most recent rocket was launched during the eclipse to study atmosphere changes around totality.<\/p>\n<p>We made a quick trip into the town of Chincoteague to sample what has been called Virginia\u2019s best ice cream, at Island Creamery. It really probably is Virginia\u2019s best ice cream. They also have some of the best flavor names: Marsh Mud and Rocket Fuel were two of our favorites.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-99c9e4e e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"99c9e4e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;boxed&quot;}\" data-core-v316-plus=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1460d0c elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"1460d0c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5827-768x1024.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large wp-image-2294\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5827-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5827-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5827-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5827-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5827-scaled.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8543442 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"8543442\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;boxed&quot;}\" data-core-v316-plus=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-900305d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"900305d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The day wasn\u2019t finished. We launched a second paddle around 4pm into the tidal river between Chincoteague and Wallops Island. Marsh grass on either side, lots of egrets, and pretty lighting. It was calm water. When we returned to the field station, we\u2019d were welcomed to a seafood boil and cracked crabs in good company. The night was rounded out by a performance of music (mostly Celtic) and story telling by a local group called The Salts. They were good! Very entertaining and interested and knowledgeable about the history and folkways of this area, and Ireland.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-503032d e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"503032d\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;boxed&quot;}\" data-core-v316-plus=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-af95483 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"af95483\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5844-768x576.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large wp-image-2290\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5844-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5844-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5844-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5844-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5844-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dc75eb2 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"dc75eb2\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;boxed&quot;}\" data-core-v316-plus=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ca8d5b5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"ca8d5b5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5853-768x1024.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large wp-image-2286\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5853-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5853-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5853-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5853-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/graceffa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG_5853-scaled.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\"><\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our paddles are moving from hard to easy. This morning we had a nice loop paddle around an island on the Pokomoke and up Corker Creek. Right at the start we saw two bald eagles perched on a bare branched tree. They were stunning. My photo is not digitally zoomed in because I wanted the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2281,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[41,44,42],"class_list":["post-2299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-38","tag-kayaking","tag-united-states","tag-virginia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/graceffa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/graceffa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/graceffa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graceffa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graceffa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2299"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/graceffa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2299\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2333,"href":"https:\/\/graceffa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2299\/revisions\/2333"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graceffa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/graceffa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graceffa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graceffa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}