The Second Canoe Trip

        After our first experience on the San Marcos River we decided it would be a good idea to get more practice in, in waters that were easy to handle. So a several trips were spent over some period of time on Dickenson Bayou, Dickenson TX paddling up and down the bayou. We even took a couple of nephews with us from time to time.
         Since the canoe is not really a canoe in the truest sense of the word, but rather has the features and shape of a pirogue (a Pelican Bayou 16) http://www.pelicansport.com/index.php?language=en&category=canoes&nauticalboat=ASA16P106, those of you from Eastern Canada, France and Louisiana will know what that is, it is a rather heavy "boat" weighing in at almost 124 lbs, since it is reinforced to handle a small outboard motor on the stern (Max 2.5 hp). We have one which is used for fishing trips. Another story about that will follow in then near future.
         We also decided that a small trailer would be handy for transporting the canoe rather than "car-topping" it. Here is the reason why; see weight above. The first time we loaded it on the top of the car - the trip to the San Marcos River - caused a humorous moment. We had the canoe lined up on the ground, upside down, next to the car, and I asked Norma to lift the bow up and I would handle the stern and we would just place it on top of the car. It didn't work, Norma could not lift her end up high enough; not a problem I thought, I will just lift it up for her and then let her hold it up as I lifted the other end. So far so good, Norma has the bow in the air and I go to the stern and lift it up, with the result that Norma disappeared underneath the canoe, which settler over her shoulders. We had a good laugh. We did get the canoe on the car that time and a few other times, but a Trailex trailer was purchased from Castlecraft shortly thereafter.  This little trailer is exceptional; at the time of this writing it has over 20,000 highway miles on its tires between Texas and Wisconsin, Michigan UP, Michigan LP, Indiana, Florida. It is light and easy to handle (hmm, I should get a commission on future sales by Castlecraft. http://www.castlecraft.com/canoe_trailer.htm
      Finally, at some point we felt we had enough experience and set out on our second adventure. A canoe trip on the San Antonio River in and around Goliad Texas. This is another TPWD canoe trail http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/boat/paddlingtrails/. Goliad is steeped in Texas history. Again it was anniversary and Thanksgiving weekend. For our lodgings we did not use the state park, but rather something much more exotic; the Officer Quarters of the "Presidio de la Bahia" http://presidiolabahia.org/. The photos will speak for themselves as will the information available at the link.
      This time our bikes were left at the "take-out" in the State Park, which houses owns a Catholic Church (No separation of Church and State here - eat yer hearts out ACLU). We then drove to the "launch" site on the junction of Hwy 59 and the river. It was a rather steep bank to go down, so a trip to the local hardware store for a long length of rope to assist was required. The day was cloudy and a bit on the cool side with an occasional drizzle. The river was flowing at a good rate and the 6 miles were covered in just over two hours. We saw a good bit of the local wildlife, including a bunch of goats grazing on the banks and many birds. After the takeout we had to bike our way back to the launch site to retrieve the car and trailer, then go back to the state park to pick up the canoe.
    We enjoyed our stay in the Presidio. There is no TV and the phone is for emergencies only, so it was a nice three day weekend, reading by the fireplace. One little incident caused a smile or two. The Presidio is open to tourists and they are free to wander through the buildings and grounds, except the officer quarters. At one point I was out getting some firewood, and this young boy saw me come out of the door that is clearly marked "private" and then return from across the parade ground with firewood, so he stopped me and asked "Do you live here?" to which I answered "Yes", not going into a great amount of detail about the length of our time there, and his eyes became big and he exclaimed "Man, that is so cool!" Indeed a great weekend and anniversary celebration with home cooked meals and a glass of wine. The only restaurant we ate in was Wanda's which has good food and prides itself on not being a "fast food" establishment. We can vouch for the quality of the food and the fact that it is not fast; we have never had to wait so long for a simple breakfast, but it was well worth the wait, and we can recommend Wanda's to all that ask.(Wanda's 106 W. Pearl Street, Goliad TX 77963 Tel: 361-645-3036. Perhaps we should ask for commissions here as well?