Can You Canoe?

One great feature of Fredericksburg is the Rappahannock River, which forms one boundary of the town.  Though it once was a significant river for trade, silt has dramatically decreased the depth of the river, so it is no longer deep enough for trade ships, but perfect for recreation like fishing, kayaking, and canoeing, and we have finally taken advantage of it.  One of Jason's students this semester is an employee of the Friends of the Rappahannock, an organization dedicated to the preservation of the river, and he organized a canoeing trip for students in that class.  One of the perks of being a significant other of the instructor is that I get to tag along.

River View

Being on the river, we got to see the back side of many buildings we'd only seen from the front (street) side.

Chatham is one of the historic homes in the Fredericksburg area,
and looks beautiful from the river.

This is an old electricity generating plant, and there
is talk of someone converting it into a restaurant.

Not only did we get to see this building from the back, we got to
go in under it...

Under the building, looking back out at the river.

Being on the river let us see Fredericksburg in a new way.

 River Life

We saw a tiny river snake, a couple of geese, and lots of turtles sunning themselves.

Walking through history

Fredericksburg is an incredibly historic city, from colonial times through the Civil War.  At the end of our canoe trip, we came out at the area where the Union Army built a pontoon bridge across the Rappahannock to engage the Confederates.  We then walked up the same way the Union soldiers did, through a narrow alley that felt like walking a gauntlet.  It made us realize how incredibly dangerous this invasion was.

After this trip, Jason and I decided we need to get a canoe :)