On Monday night, Sept. 8, a good friend of mine, Pam Adams, pulled together seven of my friends and family to celebrate my birthday by kayaking the Presumpscot River in Westbrook. We loaded in at the boat launch on Lincoln Street around 6 p.m., and traveled up river, where we stopped and enjoyed an amazing dinner and enjoyed each other’s company. Once we could see the full moon, we continued to paddle up river to the railroad trestle, where you can travel through a tunnel, which was very cool.

The vantage point from our kayaks of the full moon reflecting off the water was breathtaking. It was very peaceful and the river was so calm.

We are so fortunate to have an amazing recreational opportunity right in our back yard.

For those of you who haven’t had the opportunity to get out on the river, I would encourage you to do so. There are many places in the area where you can rent a kayak, canoe or paddleboard for the day. Portland Paddlers was offering kayak and paddleboard rentals at Riverbank Park all summer, where you could paddle that section of the river or have your rental transported to the Lincoln Street boat launch to explore even more. Unfortunately, they closed operations at the park for the season, but make sure you look for that opportunity next year. We only have so many nice days left so get out on the water and explore!

I am so lucky to have such loving friends and family who spent that evening with me and can’t think of a better way to have spent my birthday than to kayak this beautiful river we have running through our amazing city. We truly are very fortunate.

Lynda Adams

Westbrook City Clerk