I've been staying inspired by getting out in my 9' kayak on mild days. Yesterday, we put in at a waterfront park on the river and paddled across to the otherside which is about 400' across. All the docks have been pulled out for the winter and we had to launch from the ramp. The ramp is kind of steep and when we got there, we noticed that most of the ramp was covered with a thin sheet of ice for about 20' down to the water. So I loaded the kayak with my gear at the edge of the ice and after Penny got in with me, we shoved off and slid down the ramp and into the water. Much to my surprise, Penny was very calm and stayed put as we slid down doing about 5 mph and into the water. Luckily the kayak went nice and straight or we would have tipped her over and got wet. Fortunately, a lot of that ice had melted off the ramp by the time we got back from our trip.
There's a cove on the other side that we like to visit during the summer months and go beach combing along the shoreline. Yesterday I built a campfire on the beach and heated up some of my wife's Minestrone soup that I brought from home and ate a sandwich with it. There's a large wire cable spool on the shore that I use for a table, and a 5 gallon bucket makes a good chair.
We only found about a dozen golf balls but usually I find fishing lures, boat fenders, and telescopic boat poles. I've found three of those so far, three mooring balls, and a yard cart. I never know what I'm going to find but it's a great pass time for both the summer and the off season.
I cut some dead wood and left it in the buckets under the spool for the next time we visit, or in case of an emergency.
Kayaking in the winter time can be dangerous and if you capsize you can be dead in ten minutes. We always make sure the weather is mild, the tide is low, and the river conditions are calm enough for the trip across, or we don't go. I may be an old "codger", but during the winter months I try not to be a water dodger.

Joe