If I was to think of one thing that would sum up what Pensacola Florida is all about it would be naval aviation. On the map as I was paddling in yesterday I counted no less than seven air strips within the city limits that are controlled by the Navy. There was hardly a moment when I didn’t see some sort of military aircraft in the sky practicing maneuvers. On the ground the Navy’s presence is felt by simply seeing military guys all over the place, as well as businesses advertising with Navy inspired designs (commonly an image of the Blue Angels). The fact that it’s a military town is unmistakable.

Seems how Pensacola is a Navy town with almost 100 years of naval aviation history, there was no better place to spend a day off the water than the Naval Aviation Museum. I had the added benefit of being escorted to and through the museum by my host Robert Blackington who is a retired Navy pilot and flight instructor who not only knows much of the history but lived it.

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Mr.B next to his plane the Skyraider
Robert had always been interested in flying and actually flew an airplane long before he had his drivers license. He joined the Navy shortly after WWII and entered flight school which is what brought him to Pensacola. It was while he was here that he met a local girl Rosemary who he eventually married and had a family. Robert flew the “Douglas AD Skyraider” during the Korean war as well as a bunch of other aircraft over the course of his carrier. He probably would have flown even more planes but his 6’-3” frame wouldn’t let him fit in the tiny cockpits of some of the planes. His knowledge of the history of aircraft carriers and the planes that had to try to land on them is amazing. There were times when other people in the museum were tagging along with us to hear him tell his vivid stories of flying the planes during wartime and to hear him explain the details of what we were seeing.

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A WWI era plane display showing the wooden framework of the wings and body. You can actually touch the display.
The museum itself is enormous and expanding all the time. There must be over a hundred aircraft parked on the ground and suspended from the ceiling. What’s I found as amazing as the number and variety of planes housed in the museum is how accessible everything is. There are no rope or glass barriers separating you from the displays you can walk in around and under the aircraft, tapping on the wings, and touching the propellers as you please which makes the entire experience much more personal. It is an incredible museum, free to the public, that I highly recommend visiting.

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Me in the cockpit of a fighter plane
After visiting the museum the Blackingtons invited me out to dinner with a group of their friends with whom they’ve been having dinner once a month for nearly thirty years. It is a group of retired Navy pilots who met while they were all stationed in Memphis. Many of the men in the group had also met and married Pensacola girls. So when their military carriers, spent moving all over the country, ended they all ended up moving back to Pensacola. It was a great dinner and a fun group of people that had as many questions about my trip as I did about their time flying for the Navy.

 
 
Daily stats

Start: 6:30 AM - Walker Island in Perdido pass AL
Finish: 12:00 PM - Pensacola Kayak and Sail, Pensacola FL
Time: 5:30
Daily dist: 22 miles
Total dist: 1,359 miles
Companions: None
Weather: Mostly cloudy with slight east wind with storms once I got off the water
Notes: I took out at the kayak shop just as a very wet thunder storm came through. I’m storing my boat and gear there while I stay with the aunt and uncle of my friend/coworker Alicia.
All along the route up to this point everyone I talked to (almost without fail) warned me of the many perils I would face further down the line. It was as though a map of the unknown waters that lie ahead was marked with notes and pictures that read “Thar be dragons.” It was with an undercurrent of deep seeded caution that I worked my way down the Mississippi always waiting for the monster whirlpool that would suck me and my kayak completely under water. Or of tow barges in the Intracoastal that would kick up wake so big it would wreck my day. Then in the upper Gulf of Bull sharks taking a bight out of anything that moves because they can‘t see that well in the dark waters. The passage was not without it’s risks and very rough conditions can exist. However, people’s visions of what is out there tend to be greatly exaggerated or geared toward the worst case scenario.

That was, of course, everything up to this point. As I neared Florida all of the skull and crossbones warnings were replaced with smiley faces as people gushed about of all the wonderful beaches, clear water, and sunshine I’d experience once I got here. In my mind Florida became the promised land of all things pleasant and I looked forward to making it. So it was this morning when I passed by the last piece of land that was anything but Florida I took a picture, noted the time (8:00 AM), and started looking for the beautiful mermaids.

Of course there are still risks that I’ll face over the next two months in Florida as I will for the entirety of this trip. But there is a lot of truth to the beauty that Florida has to offer (especially to a kayaker like me) and especially on the west coast of the state. Because of the sheer amount of coast line that Florida has and because of the tourism industry (which is geared toward people using the water) Florida’s waterways are designed less for heavy industry and more for recreational boat users. There are pockets of industry where high sea walls and heavy machinery prevail, but those areas are easily avoided and accessible beaches are never too far away. There are sections of coast, just like what I saw in MS and AL, that are almost continuously developed with beach houses and condos, but here state parks are sprinkled throughout meaning there will almost always be a place where I can pull off the water and not be under the watchful eyes of a ten story apartment complex.

What’s really great for a kayaker traveling along Florida’s coast is that the path ahead has already been paved. An excellent guide has been written for the entire coastline highlighting the camp spots, re-supply points, take outs, points of interest, etc that a paddler could need. In addition, in what would be the most tricky spots where sand coast gives way to mud and dense mangrove forests, actual canoe and kayak trails have been established complete with marked and maintained camp spots and even elevated platforms making the passage much easier.

It’s no secret that Florida has a lot to offer sea kayakers and other water enthusiasts add the fact that this state is where I started kayaking ten years ago and I must say it feels good to be back.
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This little island is the last piece of Alabama you pass on the ICW before entering Florida
My entry into Florida came in the Intracoastal waterway which I decided to paddle this morning because I was already camped a mile in the night before. My welcome into Florida came later in the day when I reached Pensacola (The western gate to the Sunshine State). I had been corresponding with the folks at Pensacola Sail and Kayak and made arrangements to store the Ikkuma and much of my gear with them. I paddled right up behind their shop at noon today and walked upstairs in my paddling clothes to Jerry who said simply, “You must be the guy.” Jerry helped be get squared away and I took advantage of a hose to rinse the salt and sand off my gear that had been accumulating over the last several days. Once all the gear maintenance was done I called Bob and Rosemary Blackington (the uncle and aunt of my friend/coworker Alicia at Aqua Adventures in San Diego). Alicia had started making arrangements for me to stay with them way back when I had a rough go of things in Vicksburg. In a few minutes they arrived and after a quick signing of the boat, then a stop for a burger, took me home to get cleaned up and rest a bit. Bob and Mary are every bit as fun and entertaining as Alicia told me they’d be and they made me feel right at home in their beautiful house and even offered up the use of their vehicle to get around town while I’m here. I took them up on the offer of the car as I had some other folks in town that I needed to meet.
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Mary signing the Ikkuma
Way back in Baton Rouge I wrote about Jamie and George at Baton Rouge Blueprint and how they were so helpful in getting me sorted out for the beginning of the Gulf Coast portion of this trip. They suggested that I post a message on the Pensacola sport fishing forum (of which they are members) to see if I could get any advice from the local boaters. The avalanche of advice, information, and offers of places to stay that came from that one post was amazing. One of the folks I heard from the most “Banana Tom” told me that many of the people get together on Wednesday night for happy hour so I seized the opportunity to meet many of the people and thank them for their offers of hospitality in person. It was at the Oar House Restaurant (pronounced very carefully) that I finally met Tom and a whole pile of people that were interested in the trip. I spoke for quite a while to a great couple originally from Kansas (forgive me guys I forgot your names) he kayak fishes a lot in the area and has been following along with the trip very closely. 

A highlight of the evening was when Dale (a very close “like sisters” friend of Jamie back in Baton Rouge) presented me with a Marti Gras bead (medalian) and a very rare pin showing the insignia of the Molly Rogers Pirates of which I have now met two of the select few of this very exclusive group. It wasn’t until I was all set up in camp last night, and started studying my maps, that I realized that I was only a few miles short of Dale’s house right on the Intracoastal. She had offered up the apartment above the garage to stay and I was a little frustrated that I missed the opportunity. Not because I missed a bed to sleep in but because I missed the chance to meet with her a little more.

I also didn’t get much of a chance to talk to Banana Tom but we made plans to meet before I left which should be easy because (small world that it is) it turns out he lives in the same neighborhood as the Blackingtons.
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Two great folks that I met at the happy hour
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Dale (Jamie's friend) at happy hour
After the happy hour I took further advantage of wheels and headed over to the Super Wal-Mart to get provisions for the next week or so. In a effort to fill the bottomless pit my stomach has become I purchased a small chocolate cake and swiped a fork from the deli counter so I could eat it in the parking lot. To my wonderment, when I got back to the Blackingtons I discovered that Mary had made brownies which I was happy to have a serving of as well.

Florida truly is the promised land.

 
 
Daily stats
Start: 6:15 AM- Dauphin Island AL
Finish: 2:00 PM - Perdido Cut AL
Time: 7:45
Daily dist: 35 miles
Total dist: 1,337 miles
Companions: None
Weather: Absolutely flat calm almost all daywith temps in the upper 60's
Notes: The nicest day of paddling so far on this trip, actually one of the nicest days I’ve ever spent paddling.
All day long I kept retracing my steps over the last week to make sure that it was indeed just eight days ago when I had to thaw my tent poles with my cook stove in order to get them apart, because today was absolutely gorgeous. Sorry for everyone who had to work, it was about as good as it gets out on the water today and I was thinking about you. Everything came together right today, the water was glassy smooth and my paddling cadence seemed to match the roll of the ocean in such a way that the kayak almost seemed to levitate above the water. It was paddling zen.
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A calm start to a great day
Of course with a day so sublime I don’t really have that much to report. Early this morning, just after crossing the entrance to Mobile bay, I did see literally thousands of Cormorants flying east in long single file rows. At first the flocks came through in trickles of 50 or so birds. Then it was like someone opened a faucet wide open and the birds came in continuous rows at least a half mile long. At the end of the day I also had a little adventure finding a spot to camp. The beach I had spotted on Google Maps turned out to be situated directly under the nose of two multi story beach condos.  So after a 32 mile day I was without a place to call home for the night. Thankfully just inside Perdido pass I discovered a small island in the middle of the bay. It's dry land but not by much yet a very nice spot to camp.  Tonight the island is playing host to the usual number of Great Blue Herons and one kayaker.
 
 
Daily stats
Start: 6:45 AM - Petit Bois Island
Finish: 1:30 PM - Little Dauphin Island (entrance to Mobile Bay)
Time: 6:45
Daily dist: 26 miles
Total dist: 1,302 miles
Companions: Rob from the Mobile kayaking club
Weather: Gentle breeze and warm
Notes: Took paddling jacket off for the first time in the trip.

Today was about as close to a text book perfect day as I could have imagined. The wind that was blowing so strong yesterday wore itself out over night leaving a dead calm morning with glassy smooth water in it’s place. As I slipped my boat into the water the sound of a pod of dolphins feeding in the channel to the west caught my attention and I paused for a moment to enjoy the sight of a half dozen of them working together to hunt for fish.
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Morning calm
The goal for today was to reach Dauphin Island (named after the French prince) with enough time left in the day to set up camp and catch up with a few members of the local paddling club to say hi, swap a few stories, and share a bight to eat. As I approached the new pass (aptly named Katrina Pass as it was that hurricane that created it) that separates the west end of the island from the more substantial and populated east end I came upon a gentleman in a petal powered kayak. Rob was out on the water today to see if he could intersect me on my way in and paddle with me for a bit. His plan worked and we enjoyed a nice chat as we paddled the last two hours of the day together. As we neared a bridge that accesses the island we were waved to shore by another kayak club member, Maggie, who had also come to greet me. Once she found out our destination she too launched her kayak and shared some time on the water with us as well.
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Rob paddled out to greet me today
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This little stow away shared Maggie's cockpit
It was nice to have a little local knowledge on my side with Rob as he helped direct me into the perfect camp site. I’m set up on Little Dauphin island behind a large sand dune out of sight of the nearby homes on the main island but within a five minute paddle of the local boat ramp. It was at the boat ramp where I caught up with Maggie for a ride into town for dinner. The Ikkuma with all the signatures is beginning to attract a bit of attention from passers by, I ended up fielding a few questions from a few curious folks and even had a couple add their signatures to the boat too.

In town we caught up with Tracy who is the kayak club president that helped coordinate my meeting with everyone as well as Nick who I paddled with yesterday. Nick thought it’d be worth the not so long drive over from Ocean Springs to meet Tracy and some of the local paddlers right along with me. It was good to see a now familiar face again and I’m glad he made the drive. We had an excellent dinner and I had a chance to learn a bit more about the local paddling scene and get to know a sampling of the core of the paddling community.

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Rob, Maggie, Me, Tracy, Nick (photo by stranger in restaurant)
 
 
Daily stats
Start: 8:10 AM - Ocean Springs MS
Finish: 3:30 PM - Petit Bouis Island MS
Time: 7;20
Daily dist: 25 miles
Total dist: x miles
Companions: Nick
Weather: Windy and overcast
Notes: Great day with good company and challenging conditions
What a great day of paddling. I was joined for the first leg of today’s journey by Nick who is one of the folks that showed me around town yesterday. Nick has been paddling for a few years now mostly on the rivers and bayous in the area. He was stretching his skill and experience level a bit today by joining me on a 16 mile coastal run in some pretty strong winds and less than calm seas. He handled the conditions just fine and we had a great time paddling from Ocean Springs down to Pascagoula. This was only the second time in this entire trip that someone has been able to join me on the water. I had to laugh at the fact that both times it was very windy and in conditions that barely allowed me to enjoy someone’s company. We spent the entire morning shouting over the constant rush of the wind which made conversation a bit of a challenge. We got a little bit of everything from wind today. For the first few miles it was directly on our beam which meant waves hitting us broad side washing over our decks and laps. As we rounded Bellefontaine point the waves and wind were quartering in from behind us meaning we had to work a bit to prevent weather cocking. Then still further on the wind was directly behind us providing a good push and surfable waves the last six miles in to Pascagoula. Nick handled the conditions quite well but was very happy to be back on land when we parted ways at a boat ramp in Pascagoula. It was a nice change to have company on the water for a while.

It was at the boat ramp that Melissa from South Coast Paddling once again went above and beyond and volunteered to come down to pick Nick up. In order to give me a rare chance to paddle an empty boat for a while, Melissa also hauled down my camping gear. After dropping Nick off, the plan was for me to load up and then paddle only a couple miles out to Round Island to spend the night. Because the strong winds would have meant an upwind crawl to Round Island, I decided instead to run a bit further but across the wind to Petit Bois (Petty Boy) island. Spending the night on Petit Bois also put me in a better position to reach Mobile in a timely manner tomorrow. So after dropping Nick off I headed back out and set a course of 150 degrees and paddled for two hours in exciting quartering winds and choppy seas. It was a fun crossing that tested my skills just enough to keep things interesting.

I touched sand on Petit Bois island after two hours of paddling just as the seas were organizing themselves into three foot steep swell, perfect time to be getting off the water. I had heard a lot about the off shore islands in the Mississippi Sound and this island is every bit as beautiful as everyone described. Even on a grey blustery day the sand dunes and grasses combined with shell covered beaches make for a tranquil setting. It took a little searching but I was able to find a low spot behind one of the largest dunes in order to get out of the wind a bit providing for a nice snug camp. Right now I can hear waves crashing on the beach on the other side of the dune along with the sound of buoy bells ringing out in the wind tossed shipping channel beyond. The sound of the bells ringing is a reminder of how rough it is out there which makes camp tonight seem all the more secure. It was an all around great day of paddling with good company and challenging conditions to keep it interesting. Now I hope this wind blows itself out by morning so I can enjoy a steady run East toward Mobile Alabama.

 
 
It was already raining steadily at the gathering last night and with 20-25 mph winds and rain in the forecast we already knew there would be no kayaking happening today. So plans were laid for me to get a driving tour of the area with two local paddlers Nick and Damien. Early this morning I counted my lucky stars for not being on an island in the bay when I woke to the smell of Melissa cooking bacon and grits downstairs while wind driven rain lashed against the window panes. Because it was so nasty outside Melissa knew there would be no kayak rental or tour business happening either so she decided to join us for the day. The four of us rendezvoused at the shop and loaded into Damien’s SUV and headed out to explore the area.
We got a bit of a late start (one of our group had to sleep off the effects of a little too much indulgence last night) so our first stop was a local eatery called “The Shed” for some authentic southern style BBQ. It was a great place and truly not much more than a shed with a ramshackle assemblage of enclosed porches added to it over the years. Definitely the kind of place where you can let your hair down and be yourself. It happens to be right where the “Battle on the Bayou” race that Melissa, Nick, and Damien are planning for this coming March is going to finish up. Plans are being made to have a post race party catered by “The Shed” complete with live entertainment. Judging by the excellent pulled pork BBQ I had today, it’s certain to be a great finally to a fantastic event.

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It was to 'The Shed' for lunch
After lunch we drove around taking sneak peeks at the local waterways from the comfort of the dry interior of Damien’s truck. During a break in the rain we visited Mark at the local Audubon society field station and visitor’s center. The center resides in an old house next to what used to be a marina. The society has funded a project to turn the formerly concrete enclosed dock filled area back into a natural wetland. The results are a very beautiful wetland that acts as a outdoor classroom for the numerous groups that stop by to learn about the local ecology. The house itself has a classroom area is full of fish tanks displaying many of the critters you can find in the local waters and a very interesting Pelican skeleton mobile hanging from the ceiling (which I was very impressed by). We chatted with Mark for a while about the upcoming race and other events that Melissa and South Coast Paddling are going to help the Audubon society with. Melissa is certainly true to her cause of promoting eco tourism in the area.
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Next we continued our driving tour of the area by going back over the Pascagula river delta on the Highway 90 bridge.  On top of the bridge we could see down onto the almost endless maze of channels there are to explore below.  We continued on to Biloxi MS to a West Marine store where I could pick up a flare gun to complete my safety kit as I continue on down the open cost. The entire tour today, and really every place I’ve been and everyone I’ve been with in this region, there is always an underscore story of what it was before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina. It is hard to grasp the reality of the entire first floor of Melissa’s house being full of water even after she points out the repaired dry-wall (well above the door heights) where the water line was. As we drove the beach in Biloxi, past the beach homes and casinos, my three guides explained that pretty much everything we were seeing was brand new. The storm had essentially wiped the slate clean. The rebuild has been remarkably fast but is far from complete with vacant lots some with only concrete slabs others with stairways going to where homes once stood.

We ended the day at Melissa’s shop where Nick and Melissa helped me assemble the last of the charts I’d need to navigate my way into Florida waters. We feasted on a box of chicken purchased at the nearby fast food joint and made plans for Nick Damien and I to paddle a section of the cost together tomorrow. I can’t wait to have some company on the water again.

 
 
The breeze was already wiggling my tent and pushing up wavelets on the water when I woke up this morning. I knew by the predictions that it was supposed to blow out of the NE which was EXACTLY where I was headed. I only had 25 miles to go to reach Gulf Shores which isn‘t so far even with a head wind but I knew it wouldn’t be a day at the park. I had paddled most of that same distance in six hours yesterday but today turned out to be an 8 hour slog directly into a persistent 10 mph wind and 2-3 foot choppy wind waves. I did have a few moments of calm such as when I neared Gulf Port and was able to paddle a few miles in the shadow of their break water, as well as a mystery hour and a half when the wind just died out. Otherwise I pulled into the wind all day long. It really wasn’t that bad it’s just that I’ve become so accustomed to making amazing time on the river and had two good days on the open water so far, so working hard to average just over 3 miles per hour today took something to get used to mentally.

Along the way I did see something interesting, there were a bunch of small boats clustered about a half mile off shore with men standing on the decks with long poles the ends of which they had under water which they were wiggling back and forth. As I drew nearer I realized they were oyster “rakes” and all of these men were harvesting oysters. Piles of the muddy grey shells were mounded on the fore deck of each boat. As one or two men scooped them up off the bottom another would sort the pile throwing back empty shells and other debris. One guy waved me over and I stopped and chatted for a bit. He could tell I was out for more than a day-paddle and asked me where I had started. When I replied St. Louis he thought I meant Bay St. Louis near where I had just spent the night. When I corrected him and said St. Louis…St. Louis the other two men in his boat, and a few that overheard us in nearby boats, stopped working and looked our way. I explained the trip and the standard reply was issued “In that little thing?” as well as the standard questions, “Where do you stop at night?” “What do you eat?”, “Can you really fit all your gear in that little boat?”
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Men oystering near Gulfport MS
I have to pause here and explain my response to the question of where I had started out. My true starting point as most readers of this blog know was Portage Wisconsin. Of course the story goes that I had to re-start in St. Louis after a winter storm froze things solid up north. For a long time I did answer the “Where did you start?” question with Portage Wisconsin. However, the St. Louis answer has proven to be much more efficient when talking to people as I bob around in my boat on the water. It was proving to be a challenge to educate people on where exactly Wisconsin is and then how on earth I got to the Mississippi River from some small town 5 hours northwest of Chicago. The location of St. Louis most people know. So now when explaining the trip I need only explain that, “No, I won’t be turning around to paddle back up stream.” I had to chuckle today when the guy I was talking to remarked on the head wind I was dealing with and said. “Well…at least you’ll have a tail wind on the way back.”

At this point in the trip I have also come to expect some sort of warning about the potential perils that lie ahead along my route. Usually greatly exaggerated and always from the perspective of a shore bound person or large boat operator. I was forewarned this time about the Gulf Stream and it’s fast currents and huge seas that I’ll encounter off shore from Miami. The currents and seas are there, and for a big boat captain operating ten miles off the coast they are a very real concern. For a kayaker following the coast in clear tropical warm waters… not so much. Of course there is always advice for things to check out in the area. Often upstream or behind where I’ve already come. This time however the oysterman pointed toward the casino buildings 12 miles down the coast and recommended stopping there for the cheap beer and all the "p... er.. um "women" I could want. I thanked him for his advice and continued on into the wind.
The real adventure started for me today when I was greeted on shore by Melissa from South Coast Paddling Company in Ocean Springs MS and shortly there after Sylvia a young reporter from the local news station. Melissa was there to take me home to meet the core of the local paddling community and Sylvia for an interview to be aired on the 10:00 news. I answered Sylvia’s questions then got in my boat to paddle around a bit so she’d have some footage for her report.
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Me getting interviewed for TV

Click here to see the televison report

After the interview Melissa and I loaded my stuff in her company van and trailer and she took me home to get cleaned up. From there we drove into to meet everyone at her business partner’s home in town. Before we caught up with everyone we had to stop at the grocery store to buy fixings for a salad to go along with the pizzas that were ordered.
 
Taking me into a grocery store after a hard 8 hour day of paddling proved to be a bit of a mistake. I made us a bit late as I cruised the isles picking up the few necessities I needed to replenish my stocks and ogling ALL THAT FOOD!
 
By the time we arrived quite a crew had assembled and I was quite surprised at the turn out. I was also surprised to learn that more than a few had been following the trip and blog long before I ever found and contacted Melissa a few weeks ago. It felt great to be amongst a group of fellow paddlers again and we had a great time swapping stories (mostly me telling mine I guess) and of course, as every paddle group get together requires, eating food and having a few beers.

I had never thought of this area as a great paddling destination but when I was talking to the folks at the party I learned that (beyond the open coast) there is an almost limitless number of paddling routes you can choose from in the local bays, rivers, and bayous. Not to mention the lower 48’s largest un-dammed/un-screwed-with river the Pascagoula is near by. This area is truly a paddling treasure. Melissa and her business partners understand the value of the area win which they live and are paving the way (post Katrina) to get ecotourism running around here. Melissa’s kayak operation is brand new and she is going at it with all the enthusiasm and excitement a fledgling operation like hers needs. Already she is planning events such as the “Battle on the Bayou” kayak race as well as other events that will build the paddling community in the area and hopefully start to attract attention from outside as to the opportunities for paddlers this region holds. I have a feeling that once the word gets out Melissa and her partners will be doing well.

I only wish I had more time to check it out and was here when the area is at it’s seasonal prime… Another place to add to my ever growing list of places I must re-visit som

 
 
Don’t miss the day 39 post below. I thought it had posted last night but with the sketchy internet connection I had apparently it didn’t.

Yesterday’s run down the Intracoastal was a sort of kayaking purgatory for me. Not the river and still not quite the ocean. Today was different. A half hour after I left camp I turned a corner and was greeted by one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen. Sunrise on the Gulf of Mexico. Perhaps not the best sunrise ever, but after a month on the water it was a sight I will never ever forget.
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Sunrise on the Gulf of Mexico
This first full day of open water paddling proved to be a day of adjustment for me. Without shore close to me on either side the passage of distance takes on a whole new relevance. The headland I’m aiming toward may take hours to get to and with the nearest shore over a mile away it sometimes doesn’t seem like I’m moving at all. I’ve adapted a version of my friend Duane Strosaker’s method for long channel crossings. Rather than paddle to a location… I paddle to the clock. What I mean is that my destination is the next break 45 minutes away not the point of land two and a half hours away. To keep my sanity I need the mini goals to chase even if it’s another swallow of water and mouthful of GORP. The regular breaks also mean that I do stay fed, hydrated, and stretched out. I find that if you just grind out until you get tired or thirsty you’ve started to dig yourself into a hole that’s hard to get out of. I believe on an endeavor like this you need to drink and eat before you get hungry or thirsty.

Another thing I’m adjusting to is human shore development. On yesterday’s blog I mentioned how people were a new thing that I hadn’t seen much of on the river. While it’s a delight to see folks on the water, their houses and condos lining every inch of shore line made finding a camp spot a bit challenging. Melissa from South Coast Paddling Company in Ocean Springsi called around an recommended a spot just outside of Bay of St. Louis. I arrived here very early but because the next possible camp site is a full day of paddling further down the coast I had to pull off the water a bit earlier than normal. I could have opted to take the off shore route from island to island but I want to visit Melissa and her shop tomorrow, as well as other people in the area, so I opted for the mainland route. I’m not complaining though, this spot is nice. It’s situated on a bit of land that had been occupied by a home until hurricane Katrina swept it bare. Tomorrow I’ll be heading on into Biloxi to check in with Melissa.
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A nice beach side camp
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Ruins where a house once stood
 
 
Daily stats
Start: 7:28 AM- French Quarter, New Orleans
Finish: 2:14 PM - Between Lake Borgne and Lake Pontchartrain
Time: 6:46
Daily dist: 28 miles
Total dist: 1,191 miles
Companions: none
Weather: Started in the low 30s, reaching upper 40s by mid-afternoon.  Partly cloudy, with a breeze out of the north.
Notes:  Warmer weather ahead
First a thank you to Bill Strickland for picking me up and giving me a place to stay while passing through New Orleans.  I'm not sure how this trip would have gone without all the help from people like Bill here in New Orleans and last week Michael up in Baton Rouge.  Thank you everyone that has helped me on this trip.  I truly appreciate it.
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Bill seeing me off at the steps near the St.Louis Cathedral in New Orleans
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Waving good by to Bill - photo by Bill Strickland

Saltwater at last!

At 8:15 this morning, after descending ten feet, the downstream doors of the New Orleans Industrial Lock opened onto the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and I paddled out into salt water at last! I said it to my friends in the beginning that I wouldn’t feel like I was really doing this trip until I made it to the Gulf. Somehow up to this point it has been something I wanted to do or was trying to do. Now I feel that I can stand on my own and declare that this trip is something that I AM doing.
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Lock doors opening into the Intracoastal Waterway linked to the Gulf of Mexico
As far as paddling goes the ocean is my home turf and when I caught a glimpse through a side channel of the clear horizon on the open gulf I must say that it feels good to be home. The oppressive size and raw energy of the Mississippi river is behind me and while I already miss the incredible distances the river’s fast flowing current allows, it is a relief to be off the river into more stable and predictable waters. The feeling is like when a loud noise you were talking over is suddenly shut off. You may not have noticed the stress it was causing but you appreciate the sudden calm. Today I felt like I had turned off a fast moving busy interstate onto a quiet neighborhood street.
Up to today, I had never paddled the Ikkuma fully loaded in flat water. Almost all of my experience paddling the Ikkuma fully loaded was on the fast moving Mississippi. I had no clue what kind of pace I would be able to maintain in that boat. I had only predicted that I would be able to do a sustained pace of 3 miles per hour. Today I was happy to see that I could maintain a somewhat better 4 mile per hour pace which will allow me to do my planned 25 miles per day with a few miles to spare.

I stopped a bit early today at 22 miles because beyond here there is very little dry ground to be had for another 20 miles. I’m set up on a ridge of land that was deposited here by the dredging operation that created the canal I was paddling. It’s a nice spot all things considered, not much more than a rough grassy bank but way better than the mucky salt marsh that is the norm in this region. Finding today’s camp site was a crux move and something I’ve been stressing over since last week. I spotted the lighter colored ground of this bank on Google Earth and assumed it was something other (and hopefully dryer) than the black soil and marsh that surrounds it. I really didn’t know what was here, and if this spot would work out until I arrived at 2:00 this afternoon. I had back up plan but it would have meant hours more paddling and a lot of stress. It made my day when I saw how nice this spot is today.
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If I had known the camping would have been this nice never would have worried.
Besides the nice camp spot, today everything seemed to fall in place. I had heard rumor that the Industrial Lock can be very busy with barge traffic that can lead to hours long delays. However, luck was with me when I called to check in with the lock this morning and learned that there is a bridge curfew on the two draw bridges that flank the lock, and that no barge traffic can go through until after the morning rush hour. It pays to be small because I easily paddled under the bridges and locked through all alone in less than a half hour. From there I made great time and enjoyed the first truly warm day of paddling I’ve had so far, in fact this was the first pogey free (paddling mitten) day I’ve had as well. I also discovered that GorTex must have a temperature below which moisture simply condenses faster than it can pass through the fabric. It was warmer today than ever before but I stayed dry and comfortable inside my paddling clothes all day long.

Being on less intense water brought with it something else that has been missing with this trip so far… people. For nearly the first time I saw boats other than barges and ships out using the water for recreation be it fishing, hunting, or just boating. They were a welcome site and made me fell much less alone on the water. Even the tow operators (which there still are many) seemed less annoyed by my presence than they did on the river. I got more than a few waves and a few hearty hellos from tow captains and crew as they passed by. Two young men I encountered near a huge Billion dollar Army Corps project even slowed and approached me in their personnel transport boats to say hello and to find out just what on earth I was doing. They seemed hard pressed to get their head around the magnitude of my trip, I believe, mostly because they are not familiar with what sea kayaks can do.
From here I have a few more miles to paddle before I cross the Pearl river and float back into Mississippi State waters and the open Gulf.

 
 
After taking five days off up in Baton Rouge I had myself convinced that all I’d do is stop in New Orleans only long enough to take advantage of Bill’s hospitality for one night then get right back on the water. However, as soon as I climbed off the water right below the St. Louis cathedral yesterday, I realized that I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t give this town a look. So today I boarded a street car a few blocks from Bill’s house and headed back to the French Quarter to have a look around.
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In a nut shell my New Orleans experience was this; I got a belly full at the Gumbo shop, a mind full at the Louisiana Museum, and an eye full on Bourbon street. And I had a great time doing it.
So often places I have visited as a tourist never quite measured up to the over imaginative mental image I may have had before I made it there. I didn‘t see Sasquach ducking behind the trees in Redwood National forest, or the sun bleached skeletons of dead oxen on the ground in Death Valley. Instead I’m faced with reality and end up discovering a place for what it really is, which really is what travel should be all about. New Orleans and the French Quarter however, delivered (almost to the smallest detail) everything I had imagined New Orleans to be. There really were jazz bands on every other street corner, the food was abundant and amazing, and on Bourbon Street you can hardly fall over and not land inside a drinking establishment of one kind or another. New Orleans is a party town, there is no doubt, but it also drips of history and architecture, and not to mention has a thousand places to get something great to eat.
While I was walking around I paused to take a photo of one of the many festively decorated balcony railings that you see lining the streets of the French Quarter. The woman that lives in the apartment that goes with the balcony caught me taking the picture and invited me up to see it from the inside. I accepted the offer and that’s how I met Georgia from Chicago who came down for Marti Gras in 75’ and never went back. With a couple of room mates and her 13 (yes thirteen) cats the apartment is barely big enough to contain her large book collection and many unique and eclectic artifacts that she has accumulated over the years. It’s not very often that you see an antelope mount adorned with beads next to a black painted silhouette mannequin wearing a lacy garter belt. Her balcony afforded a different perspective of the streets below and as we visited on her porch she relayed the story of how liberated she felt when the National Guard rolled down Royal street to restore some sort of order a week after Hurricane Katrina. Georgia was one of the few people that stayed through the storm (to be with the cats) and was lucky enough to live in an old enough part of town that she didn’t get flooded out. She shuttered when she told of the things she saw directly after the floods such as people breaking into the pharmacy just a couple doors down.
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Georgia - from Chicago - on her porch with two of her thirteen cats
After my visit down town I rode the street cars back to Bill’s house and had a wonderful meal with him and one of his friends then spent the rest of the evening packing my bags in preparation for an early ride back to the river tomorrow morning. There is much more to see here in New Orleans but it is going to have to wait for another visit.