Drifting Slowly Along

Payne Hollow painting, by Hubbard, a photo by paynehollow on Flickr.

It was very pleasant drifting slowly along. The late afternoon sun shining in our windows was a new delight to us who had lived under a western hill until this day. At sunset we pulled in to shore on the Kentucky side, above the first bridge...

Although only a few river miles had been covered on our first day's run, we felt it to be an auspicious beginning. Already we sensed that the joy of drifting did not depend on getting anywhere in particular. Just to have rounded that one bend brought us to as new a shore as could be desired.

It was no longer the stony one at Brent, but a sandy beach, backed by willows. Strange train whistles were heard, and the constellations of city lights shone from the opposite hill..

~from Harlan Hubbard's, Shantyboat: A River Way of Life, published 1977 by University Press of Kentucky