July 1, 2022 (Updated December 6, 2023)

A Kayaking Date Night

by Anne Mauney, MPH, RD

28 comments

Hi friends! Coming to you with a surprise lifestyle post – I had planned to share some recipe inspiration today, but Matt and I had a unique date night earlier this week and I got some pictures and just thought it would be fun to pop in and share. 🙂 

If you’re looking for some recipe inspiration for the upcoming holiday, be sure to check out this blog post: Healthy 4th of July Recipes.

That post focuses on appetizers and desserts, so if you’re looking for main dish BBQ fare, check out this post: Healthy Grilling Recipes for Summer.

And now, on to the date night!

kayaking near belle haven - view from kayak

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I mentioned in my life lately post earlier this week that Matt and I have been doing a weekly date night, which has been a really nice routine. When Riese was super little we got into the habit of very rarely having dates, and then it was covid life, and… yeah.

Now that Wes is old enough we feel comfortable leaving him with a babysitter, it has been really nice to do something to prioritize our relationship and connect without the kids on a consistent basis!

Since the weather has been warm and it has been light out so late, we’ve been mixing up our date nights and doing an activity instead of just dinner, which I love.

This week my idea was to go kayaking! I think writing earlier this week about how we used to go kayaking to see the 4th of July fireworks before kids inspired me. 🙂

(And yes, our life jackets are not fastened – we were told we only had to have them in the rafts with us, we didn’t necessarily need to wear them. So we went for an in-between option.)

I LOVE kayaking, especially in the evening when it’s not so hot out, and we hadn’t gone in ages.

We hustled out of the house as soon as our babysitter arrived and made it in time for their last kayak rental appointments of the day – a 6 p.m. departure from the marina!

kayaking near belle haven marina

We rented two single kayaks from Belle Haven Marina, which we’d never been to before.

In the past we’ve always done rentals in Georgetown (in D.C.) via Key Bridge Boathouse, which is fun but it’s kind of a pain traffic-wise on a weeknight to get into Georgetown. Plus, this way we got to explore some new to us areas!

There were some cool little marshy areas for us to explore along the coast. It was incredibly gorgeous and fun to be out on the water for the first time in ages. Being in nature is always my go-to when the world just feels like… a lot. Anyone else?

It was just so calm and peaceful out there, it was lovely.

kayaking near belle haven marina

We even saw what we think were Bald Eagles!

Can anyone confirm?!

bald eagles on a tree near belle haven marina

After kayaking for about an hour and a half, we drove into Old Town and had a late dinner at Virtue Feed + Grain which was also lovely. It was packed but we snagged a spot outside!

We shared a bunch of stuff – their umami burger (with mushrooms and bleu cheese), fries, and two salads – a delicious spinach, walnut, and feta salad and a just okay seared tuna salad. 

food on a table from virtue feed and grain

Such a treat of an evening. 

I will end this post with a random request for advice! We are dealing with some fruit flies around our indoor countertop compost bucket. We’ve been composting for years now and hadn’t had this happen until just recently, so I’m not sure why they all of a sudden showed up! 

I thoroughly cleaned out the bin and the lid, replaced the charcoal filter with a new one, and it didn’t do anything. 

I asked a friend who knows a lot about composting and she said to try putting a jar with a little vinegar in it next to the compost bin – it has some plastic wrap with a few holes poked in it on top so the fruit flies go in and don’t leave.

It has caught a few but not all of them… maybe I just need to be patient?

compost bin on a countertop with a jar of vinegar next to it.

Any tips are welcome. 🙂 

Have a great weekend, friends, and a nice holiday if you are here in the U.S.

I’m taking next week off of blogging as we will be on vacation in the Outer Banks. So, see you back here in a week-ish! 

- anne

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28 comments
  • Tori
    Hi Anne! I love kayaking and it looks like you and Matt had a great time! Those birds do look like bald eagles. How beautiful! For the fruit flies, I think I’ve seen on Amazon some right yellow sticky traps but that only traps them, doesn’t prevent them from coming. Enjoy the holiday weekend!
    Reply
    • Anne
      I'll look into those - thanks, Tori!
      Reply
  • Chrissy
    For fruit flies, I’ve used shallow dishes with vinegar and a few drops of dish soap. Works like a charm! I just rinse and replenish as needed.
    Reply
  • K
    Yes- per your other two commenters -- it was a bald eagle. And I think the best way to catch fruit flies is an open jar with vinegar and a few drops of dish soap. They come in through produce. My mom has a big garden and you just cannot help but bring them in, so she keeps a jar out all summer. I think the compost bucket may give them a place to multiply, but don't give up on it.
    Reply
    • Anne
      I won't! Thanks for the tips!
      Reply
  • Nancy
    I'd try the vinegar suggestions first (what I used to do), but when the fruit flies/little black bugs got too bad we purchased a Katchy from Amazon. It has a blue light that attracts the bugs and a quiet fan to suck them in and a glue board to trap them.https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H2JGSM6/ref=syn_sd_onsite_desktop_272?psc=1&pd_rd_plhdr=t&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzUVNGNkxNTkZQOU9GJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNTQ1Mjk4MjZYUTJVVlZDSUw2RSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUExMDQwNjAyMlpSWlhQNk4zUjJNUCZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNkX29uc2l0ZV9kZXNrdG9wJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==
    Reply
    • Anne
      Oh cool! Will check that out, thanks!
      Reply
  • Hilary
    Hi Anne I keep my scraps in the freezer to help with this problem but even still we occasionally get fruit flies and the others' suggestion of an open (no cling wrap) jar with some vinegar and a tiny drop of soap works like a charm. I find that cantaloupe & peaches are usually the culprits but... I'm not going to stop eating them :)
    Reply
    • Anne
      No way I'm giving up my cantaloupe and peaches! Thanks :)
      Reply
  • Roadrunner
    Looks like a lovely evening, Anne, bravo! Enjoy the OBX!
    Reply
  • Connie
    What a fun evening! Definitely looks like bald eagles. So exciting they are making a come back and you saw 2! As for fruit flies, I sometimes use wine in a lid. It is easier to catch them in something smaller/shallower. Also at Home Depot/Lowe's they have these little plastic "apples" that come with a powder you mix w/water and it attracts them. Whenever I had run out of the powder I just put wine or vinegar & it works great. Fruit flies are so annoying! :( Anyhoo... have fun in the OBX!
    Reply
    • Anne
      They really are so annoying! That's a good tip about a shallow vs. deep jar/bowl - thanks!
      Reply
  • Katie
    Hi Anne, Yes; those are “our” eagles! I live in Belle View and we have a pair with a nest on the Dyke Marsh trail, which runs alongside the Belle Haven marina. If you ever get a chance to walk the marsh trail and check out the nest, it’s breathtaking in its size. The hatched at least one baby this spring. The eagles fly back and forth between the trail and the tree in your photo, fishing and bringing their catch back to the nest. I think kayaking from the marina there is a well-kept secret. It’s a beautiful, peaceful paddle. Glad you enjoyed it! Happy 4th.
    Reply
    • Anne
      So cool! We saw some people walking on that trail, which I didn't know existed! How do you access it?
      Reply
      • Katie
        You pass the entrance to the trail on your way into the marina. There is a sign for it and the entrance is right on the right as you head into the marina. You can park in the big parking lot along the Parkway and walk south on the MV trail toward the marina to get to it. It’s shaded and there is a lot of shoreline, too. It is an out and back trail that ends in a beautiful boardwalk with great views of the river and planes landing and taking off, as well as tons of birds, turtles, and other marine life.
        Reply
        • Anne
          Thank you, can't wait to check it out! Would it be stroller friendly do you think? Maybe I'll take Wes to check it out one weekday...
          Reply
          • Katie
            Definitely stroller friendly…I went for a walk/run this morning on the trail. It was quiet and the tree cover now gives nice shade, too. Hope you go an enjoy it! For a treat afterwards, I would definitely recommend one of two stops in the neighborhood…at our Sunoco station on the corner of the Parkway and Belle Haven road, there is now a shaved ice truck that’s becoming very popular. Or if you continue a couple of blocks up Belle Haven Road, the Custard Shack is our neighborhood ice cream spot. It is connected to The Haven, which, as a Del Rayer, may look familiar to you. It used to be the second Del Ray Pizza. Also a great spot for lunch or dinner with kids.
            Reply
            • Anne
              Fantastic. Thanks so much!
              Reply
  • Karen Shannon
    I use these fly papers. They stick to windows and catch fruit flies and other bugs. I seem to get fruit flies every summer and these take care of them. No odor at all. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08L68W4K2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
    Reply
    • Anne
      Great tip, thank you!
      Reply
  • Kim
    Seems like the front page recipe of your website is almost always “HEALTHY ___ recipe.” Why? What does healthy mean to you?
    Reply
    • Anne
      It's for search engine optimization purposes! I just use that term as people often search for "Healthy ______" on Google. As a proponent of intuitive eating, I believe all foods, regardless of nutrition, can be "healthy" because getting joy/pleasure from food is healthy! For the purposes of recipes I've labeled as "healthy", it just means that they are more nutrient dense or veggie-packed, and again using the term "healthy" in the recipe title helps more people find it. I don't love the term healthy to be honest as it kind of has a diet-y association, but it's useful in terms of getting more visibility for my recipes. I feel good at least knowing that someone won't find super diet-y messaging once they land on my website, at least!
      Reply
  • Barbara
    We had a problem with fruit flies too. Our bin was about 10 years old but in fine/clean condition. We tried different advanced cleaning tips with no luck. We ended up replacing it with an OXO bin and flies instantly went away.
    Reply
    • Anne
      Interesting! Thanks!
      Reply
  • Elaina Swartzlander
    I have to move our compost bin outside in the summer, which isn’t too bad since it’s warm and you can walk out more frequently. I had thought of the freezer option someone else mentioned but it seems like a hassle!
    Reply
    • Anne
      I agree it seems like a hassle! Moving it outdoors is an idea... hmm!
      Reply