Yesterday may have been the most pleasant day of the boating season to date, and I enjoyed three hours of the late afternoon on Merrymeeting Bay with my paddling pal Carol Meerschaert.

Paddling pal Carol Meerschaert in the stern of my 12-foot Bear Creek Cubby.
SCOTT ANDREWS PHOTO

We put in at the Bay Bridge launch on the Brunswick side, just opposite Mustard Island, and capitalized on the rising tide to paddle southwest into a pleasant group of islands at the mouth of the Androscoggin River.

We used my 12-foot Bear Creek Cubby, a handy little canoe that I bought a few years ago. It's a Maine-made product, manufactured in Sebago.

We saw only a handful of others, including one couple paddling a canoe plus a few fishermen.

We saw only one other canoe, a couple paddling through the islands at the mouth of the Androscoggin River.
SCOTT ANDREWS PHOTO

We met only a few fishermen.
SCOTT ANDREWS PHOTO

We stopped on an island for a late afternoon snack. About a mile upstream we could see the cars and trucks streaming by on Route 1. Carol commented that it showed that in Maine you don't need to travel long distances into the wilderness to enjoy a quality paddling experience.

Carol Meerschaert relaxes on an island in the Androscoggin River.
SCOTT ANDREWS PHOTO

Our lunch island had many wildflowers, including this wild iris.
SCOTT ANDREWS PHOTO

After lunch, the tide was falling and we returned the two miles or so to take out at Bay Bridge landing.

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