Senator launches three-day tour by canoe

LYNCHBERG, Tenn. (AP) - The morning air was chilly recently on the banks of the James River, but state Sen. Tom Garrett joked the water felt fine.

"It's supposed to be clear tonight, so the stars will be awesome," he said. "I'm pretty fired up."

Garrett, R-22nd, launched a three-day river trip from downtown Lynchburg, starting a journey that would take him some 50 miles by water.

"You know, I've driven every single possible way there is to drive through the 22nd, but I haven't floated it," said Garrett, whose district includes part of Lynchburg and all of Amherst and Appomattox counties.

"This is an opportunity to see the beauty of nature and see the 22nd District in a way I wish more people had the opportunity to see it."

Garrett, a lawyer based in Buckingham County northeast of Appomattox, is in his first term in the Virginia Senate. He was elected in 2011 to represent the newly redrawn 22nd District that stretches from Amherst to Goochland counties.

"When we started way back in 2011 driving the district, one of the questions we got a lot on campaign stops was, 'What's the commonality?'" he said. "Because the district is roughly the size of the state of Delaware, and it was new.

"My response generally was, you know, we all still say 'please' and 'thank you' and are good people. But geographically, the reality is (nearly the entire district) is served by either the Appomattox or James rivers. It's sort of the river district."

Over time, Garrett hopes to travel the entire length of the James which crosses through his district, from Lynchburg to the border of the Richmond metro area.

This trip, during which Garrett was assisted by a friend, covered about half that distance. He hopes to complete the trip in the spring.

The state legislator launched from the Seventh Street canoe ramp in a borrowed vessel. He camped on public islands along the way and arrived two days later at his family property on the riverfront in Buckingham.

"Compliance with the law," he joked as he packed lifejackets on board.

Garrett said he envisionsed the trip - not as a fact-finding mission or a research venture - but as a way to draw attention to the river and the natural resources the district's communities share.

"It should be an incredible opportunity to see what God's done here in the 22nd District," he said.