: Hey Greg,

: Do you do much paddlin' on the Chesapeake? If so, whats it like? If not,
: where are some good places to paddle in your area? It looks like I'll be
: moving my daughter up to the Baltimore area (just N. of Baltimore) toward
: the end of the month. Then my wife and I will be back up on vacation (with
: the boats)the second week of Sept, hopefully.

: Any advice/tips/warnings, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Here in Fl.
: we're used to the warm(well 72*F springs), flat water conditions. We're
: not pros by any stretch of the imagination - not even close. We just like
: yakin'.

: Happy Paddling.

: Charles.
Hi, Charles-I'll second Dan's suggestion regrding the Chesapeake Paddler's Association; they have a couple evening paddling groups, one of which is headquartered at a state park probably no more than 1/2 hr. east of Bawlmer city. Another good one paddles out of Jack's Boats, a great old timey livery on the Potomac in Georgetown; this is a great place to paddle at night, with the monuments, etc. all lit up. It was also used as a location in that Cher/Dennis Quaid movie, the name of which I forget. The CPA is very instruction oriented, some highly skilled paddlers who are very generous with their knowledge.
On the commercial level let me recommend Springriver, Inc., in Annapolis, a great kayak/canoe store.
Within a 1 hour radius of Bawlmer (or Bawlamer) the paddling possibilities are
many and varied. The bay is a world unto itself, especially the souteastern parts, where it's less developed. The northern bay tends to be pretty turbid, but I was on a 2-day paddle in the Onancock, Va. area a couple years ago, and the water down there was blue.
Not to worry, there are plenty of great places to paddle here for people of any skill level. For reference: Edward Gertler's Maryland And Delaware Canoe Trails-written by a canoeist but with a great section on the bay and tributaries perfect for the touring kayaker; Tamsin Venn's Seakayaking Along the Mid-Atlantic Coast, with large sections on Maryland and Virginia paddling destinatons. There's a club in the D.C. area called Capitol Area Coastal Kayakers as well.
The weather' been freaky this year, winter hopped our asses good, but summer has so far been cooler than normal, though very humid. If the trend holds, September could be great, especially for paddling. During a good winter, you can paddle all year, with attention to immersion protection and choice of destinations. This last winter was not a good winter, the bay froze, first time I've seen that since I moved here in '79.
All in all, a cool place for a paddler. Hope this is of help.-Greg