Mathews, Va - Kayaking, Biking, Beach Fun, and the Lil' Ol' Opry

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It's time for us to dive into summer with a fun weekend of favorite activities and socializing on the beautiful waters, beaches, and rural roads of Mathews County, Va. Mathews is a popular outdoors destination located just 150 miles south of Washington on the eastern tip of Virginia's Middle Peninsula. It's surrounded by the Rappahannock River, the York River, and the Chesapeake Bay, which means there are plentiful water views when biking and several places with easy access for launching kayaks.

We'll paddle on Mathews' water trails and/or do some biking on the county's nice flat back roads. You can come for a day or spend the whole weekend to make it a real getaway. In addition to paddling and biking, we'll enjoy good eating, drinking, swimming, and soaking up sun on our own private beach at the Island House that's our meetup location. On Saturday evening, we plan to see the Lil' Ol' Opry show at Donk's theater in Mathews. It should be a real hoot!

The lifestyle in Mathews is a relaxing mix of small town charms, colonial history, outdoor pursuits, lovely waterfront homes, and local fishermen harvesting the Bay. There are no annoying crowds, chain stores, or giant shopping malls. You can leave the traffic hassles of Washington far behind. Mathews County has done a fine job of mapping five designated paddling trails totaling 90 miles, as well as laying out five bike routes that explore the county's most scenic areas. Rev. Jake has purchased the maps for all of them, so we're ready to go!

Here's what you need to know:

Meet Up at the Island House on Gwynn's Island

Our meetup spot for daily activities on Saturday and Sunday will be the Island House, which is a cool waterfront property I've rented for the weekend on Gwynn's Island. As you can see in the photo below, Gwynn's Island today is a lovely place located across a short bridge from Mathews County on the Chesapeake Bay. However, it's also been important to America's history for 400 years.

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Capt. John Smith spent time on the island recovering from a stingray wound during his Chesapeake Bay explorations in 1608.

In 1776, Lord Dunmore, the last colonial governor of Virginia, established a stronghold on Gwynn's Island. American forces at Cricket Hill bombarded the British fleet and troops encamped on the island who were planning a re-conquest of the region. Lord Dunmore was forced to return to England, which marked the end of British rule in Virginia.

The Island House sits on three acres of private waterfront with its own beach were we can hang out, launch kayaks, get some sun, and go swimming. On Saturday, we plan to start our paddle by launching from the beach at the Island House. Below are some photos of the Island House to give you an idea of how cool it is.

The Google meetup map above shows the basic location along Rt. 740 on Gwynn's Island. The Island House rental site says you'll know you've found it when you see the yellow bike out front by the road. It's number 701 on the bike.

Here is the exact GPS location of the Island House shown on Google maps. You can zoom in and out to see the satellite above view and the street view, including the yellow bike by moving the map up and down the road a little. Better yet, the satellite view shows how easy it will be to launch from out beach and almost immediately be on the Gwynn's Island Water Trail around the tip of the island. You can drag the map around and zoom out to see how close we will be to many great paddling areas.

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Bring a beach chair, blanket, beverages, food, and whatever else you need to enjoy hanging out on the beach. Gwynn's Island is NOT an area with lots of convenience stores, so it's important to bring your own food and refreshments.

Kayaking & Biking - Rentals Available

Depending upon the weather, our primary group activity each day will be paddling one of Mathews' water trails, biking a scenic route, or both for those who are so inclined. However, people are free to choose the activity they prefer since there are so many good options nearby.

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For those needing a kayak, there is a local outfitter in Mathews called Mobjack Kayaking that rents high-quality Necky Manitou 14' kayaks with all gear for just $30 per half day. Not only that, they will even deliver your kayak to our Island House meetup spot or one of the Mathews launch ramps. They charge an extra $5 if it's more than 10 miles from their store, but we should be within their delivery zone. This is the best deal I've ever seen for renting good kayaks where we want to go paddling. Check out Mobjack Kayaking here:

http://mobjackkayaking.net/3.html

Donk's Theater - Lil' Ol' Opry Show

http://photos4.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/9/e/f/e/event_111760702.jpegOn Saturday night, we'll check out the local country music show at Donk's Theater in Mathews. This show is a well-established institution in Mathews using an array of talented local musicians who perform in a renovated move theater, as well as guest artists. It's a fun mix of music, comedy, and live entertainment that costs just $12. Check it out:

http://www.donkstheater.com/main.html

Lodging in Matthews

The best place to look for lodging locally is the Matthews Visitors Website. They've done a great job of showing the available B&B's and rental houses that are popular places to stay. You can check out the lodging options here:

http://www.visitmathews.com/LODGING/lodging.htm

There are no chain hotels in Mathews. The closest hotels are a Comfort Inn and a Hampton Inn in Glouscester about 20 miles away.

I found the Island House on the Mathews website, and there are many others available at a reasonable cost. They look cool, and some are located on the water. My advice is to go local in Mathews since that's where it all happens for the things we enjoy. And of course, you'll be close to the rest of us...

Meetup Details

This event will happen rain or shine. Some of us have rented the Island House for the weekend, so we'll be there starting Friday evening. We can't be sure about the weather, but we can be sure we'll find a way to have fun no matter what's going on. We have the Island House as a definite base of operations, and we'll take it from there...

Be sure to check the Google map above for specific directions to find the Island House. DON'T DEPEND ON GPS! It doesn't map well in rural areas like Gywnn's Island.

Call Jake at 703-798-8435 with any questions or to find us. I don't know how well my iPhone will work in Mathews, so send a text message if you can't reach me. Texting often works better.