I'm back in my Old Mid South Home

I arrived in Lexington, Kentucky, in the mid afternoon on Saturday.  The National Paddling Film Festival started at 4 o'clock at the Lyric Theatre, and the first thing I learned when I got there was that I was mistaken about the awards being handed out.  The "viewer's choice" award, based on votes from those who watch the movies online, won't be announced until next Saturday, February 26, when the online viewing period ends.  So you've still got all this week to watch and vote if you haven't already.  Information on how to do so is here.  If you have already watched my film and voted for it, I am sincerely grateful.

What they did announce on Saturday was the winners of the amateur, accomplished amateur, and pro categories as determined by the festival's own panel of judges.  In my category (amateur), the winner was a film called "My Dolphin Paddle."  Honorable mention was given to a film called "Calloway Creek, KY." I encourage you to watch those films as well as mine, and see if you agree with the judges.

There didn't really seem to be a reason for me to be there, but I stuck around and tried my best to socialize until 9 o'clock (the event ended at 10:00).  Then I returned to my motel--a spartan place even for a Motel 6--and tried to get some sleep.

Saturday had been a cold day, and when I got up yesterday the temperature was below freezing.  But the sun was out and the forecast called for a Fahrenheit high in the 60s.  I found some breakfast and then drove an hour or so west to Taylorsville Reservoir.  These days I'm trying to make Sunday my "over-distance" day, and this time I had company: longtime racing friend Scott Cummins came down from Louisville to meet me.  We paddled for two hours and covered about 18.6 kilometers (11.6 miles), and talked about everything under the sun.  It felt good to paddle and burn some energy and forget about driving and films and all that stuff for a while.

Scott and I talked about our racing plans for the year.  I told him I hadn't made extensive plans but intend to go to Ocean Springs next month.  Scott and I both plan to race at the Gorge Downwind Championships in the Pacific Northwest in July.  We also discussed maybe racing in Scott's double surfski at some point in the spring.

We said goodbye and I hit the road, getting home around 6:30 last night.

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