May 31st- Audrey

Today 3 members of our crew (Tyler, Claire and I) got up extra early (around 5:30) to go crabbing with our lovely hosts. The sunrise would have been worth the early wake up by itself but we had a great time on the boat too! For those who don’t know I am from Cincinnati and there isn’t much crabbing up there so this was my first time ever on a crab boat. We sorted the crabs out in addition to fish that were caught in the pots. There were even two eels! Jessica was really patient with us and went over with us many times how to tell the different kinds of crabs apart. When we came back the rest of the crew was up already and making pancakes for breakfast which were delicious. After this we heard from Richard who is a Rappahannock River Steward and is part of Friends of the Rap. He told us about his job and things that are threatening the river. He talked also about different groups wanting different things from and for the river but how the river connects them all. I thought this was an amazing summation of VOR as a whole. Everyone we have met and everything we do is tied to this river. After this talk we set off for Bayport Boy Scout Reservation. It was only about two and a half miles away so we had a very light day today. Once we got there we went swimming right away because it was so hot out. Then we had a lesson from Dr. C and made dinner. I watched the sun set and it was magnificent! About now everyone is pretty much sleeping except for a few people out on the dock maybe. This is because we are waking up at midnight tonight to paddle 26 miles. This will probably take us about 12 hours so it looks like we will finally be reaching the Chesapeake Bay at about noon tomorrow. I am so excited and I can’t believe this crazy journey is almost over already. I have to go catch some zzzs though or I am going to be dying around 9am tomorrow.

Have a good one!

Audrey