Day 73 - Tuesday, February 16, 2010 02/16/2010
Daily stats Start: 6:50 AM - CapeRomano (south of Marco Island, FL) Finish: 3:20 PM – HighlandBeach (23 miles SE of Chokoloskee, FL) Time: 8:30 Daily dist: 42 miles Total dist: 2,072 miles Companions: None Notes: Clear with a strong tailwind. Gusts over 25 mph. Jake is in another ecologically fascinating place. Ten thousand islands are home to endless mangroves, sawfish, goliath groupers, manatees, roseate spoonbills, American crocodiles, and deafening swarms of mosquitoes. Except for the wind, his winter visit should keep him relatively comfortable. His next blog transmission will most likely be in ~3 days when he reaches Key Largo (weather notwithstanding). Day 72 02/15/2010
Start: 8:15 AM- Bonita Beach, FL Finish: 4:30 PM - Cape Romano (south of Marco Island, FL) Time: 8:15 Daily dist: 36 miles Total dist: 2,030 miles Companions: None Weather: Beautiful upper 60’s partly cloudy and little wind Notes: The first “Florida like” day so far. Ended up at a place where I’ve camped before with friends Jeff and Vic. I woke in a bed for the seventh day in a row wondering if I even remember how to put my tent up. This streak of people to stay with has been fun but it does require a lot of energy to pull completely on and off the water every day. When I’m camping I only take what I need for the evening out of the boat and the rest stays packed. When somebody picks me up I end up taking every little thing I can out of the Ikkuma. That means that I have to keep track of it all as well as re-pack everything when I get back to the water. When I go home with people I also can’t resist staying up to chat and get to know them which is some of the most fun I’ve had on the trip. Of course evenings spent visiting with my hosts have been denying me much needed sleep. I’m not complaining though, the reward of new friends, showers, and home cooked meals makes it all worthwhile.  Larry and Kathy saw me off this morning Larry and Kathy gave me a ride back to the beach this morning and we found a restaurant staff member to unlock the storage yard where the Ikkuma was parked over night. Larry helped me carry the kayak to the water and while I stuffed the hatches full of all my belongings, Kathy fielded questions from passers by on the beach. During the short half hour we were on the beach two more signatures were added to the already crowded deck of my kayak.  easy navigation “keep land on your left and stop after 30 miles” Today was the first day in the entire trip where I started out not wearing the Tec-Tour Jacket. In fact I went the entire day in perfect paddling conditions. Just enough wind to keep me cool and sunshine to brighten up the day. Navigating today was as easy as it gets as well. My brother had joked that all I needed to do to navigate on this trip was to keep land on my left and keep turning left. Today, with an almost perfectly straight run from Bonita Beach to Cape Romano, it was that simple. The first 2/3 of the trip followed a very developed section of coast full of multi story condos. The south end of Marco Island however marked the abrupt end of the populated coast line I’ve been following since last week and the beginning of the wilderness of the 10,000 Islands and coastal Florida Everglades.  abrupt change from city to wilderness  foam dome house at Cape Romano What made finding this place easy too was the fact that I’ve already camped here. About eight years ago when I was living in Fort Lauderdale I came over with Vic Sorensen and Jeff Bingham and we launched out of Goodland and camped here for a night. It’s a beautiful spot and what makes it most noteworthy is the ruined shell of a house on stilts that is falling into the ocean. The house (known as “The Castle” by some of the locals) consists of a series of interconnected half dome structures made of white painted foam. I have no idea how old the structure is only that it’s slowly loosing the battle with mother nature and is sinking into the sea. With the large arched top windows and open air decks, one can only imagine how interesting the home must have been back in the day. I did remember how to set up my tent just fine and enjoyed a pleasant dinner just before a small shower blew through the area. Now I’m plotting my course through the Everglades over the next few days. Some of it familiar territory from past trips I’ve done in the area. Again, I don’t know what kind of cell service I’ll have once I leave here so be patient if the blog posts fall a day or two behind. I’ll get you caught up once I reach civilization on the other side. My friend and statistician Neil will probably still be posting my daily stats so you can at least keep track of my progress even if I can’t post.  home sweet home Day 71 02/14/2010
Start: 8:45 AM- Matlache Finish: 3:00 PM - Bonita Beach Time: 6:15 Daily dist: 24 miles Total dist: x miles Companions: None Weather: Partly Cloudy with light north wind and temps in the lower 60’s Notes: The fishing pier on Sanibel was the first passing of a point I’ve already been to. With a shorter than normal day in store for me today we made time for a big breakfast and took our time getting back to the water. So it was that at about 9:00 AM Jory waved good by from the dock and I started out on the first day of this trip since St. Louis that would take me past places I have already been.  Jory and I at the amazing kayak launch we used the last two days  Uncle Jim’s pier in the distance It was the fishing pier on Sanibel Island where I had fished seven years ago with my uncle Jim when I was living in Fort Lauderdale and he and my aunt were spending their winters on the island. I must admit I was a little lost as I approached the causeway that accesses Sanibel. The huge bridge that now towers over the water was not there seven years ago when I was last here. When I saw it took me a moment to realize that it was there in place of the low draw bridge that I had expected to see. The trend of replacing the low bridges (often with draw sections) that access off shore islands with huge tall bridges seems to be universal in every corner of the country. While it makes travel on and off the island much easier, I think it runs the risk of wrecking the remote (slow easy pace) feel of those vacation islands. All in the name of progress I guess.  this wasn’t here last time From the bridge I had only twelve miles to go to reach today’s destination, Doc’s restaurant at Bonita Beach. That rendezvous point has been in the works since the first hours of this trip when the “bell ringers” Larry and Kathy rang a cow bell to get my attention and said hello as I paddled by on the icy cold Wisconsin River. Two months and several e-mails later we finally crossed paths again on a sunny (and not quite warm yet) Florida beach. Larry and Kathy (along with a bunch of their friends from Wisconsin) treated me to a sandwich and Coke at Doc’s. After eating we stashed the Ikkuma in an enclosure next to the restaurant and locked it to the wall. From there Larry and Kathy took me home to their vacation rental to spend the night with them. It was refreshing to be around so many folks from back home.  the “bell ringers” Larry and Kathy back home in Wisconsin This was my last night “couch surfing” before I enter the 10,000 islands and Everglades and camp my way for several nights on my way toward my friends in Fort Lauderdale and the end of the Gulf Coast segment of this trip. It’s a fairly remote section of coast that I’m going to be entering so there may be a gap in posting, so please stand by. Day 70 02/13/2010
Start: 7:50 AM- Manasota Finish: 3:00 PM - Matlachacola Time: 7:10 Daily dist: 34 miles Total dist: x miles Companions: Doug Weather: 20 mph north wind Notes: Very windy with good tail wind all day. Today was exactly what I hoped this trip would be all about. For the first ten miles I was joined by Doug with whom I stayed last night. He is an avid kayaker who is very serious about the sport. It was a rare treat to have somebody join me and I thoroughly enjoyed having the company on the water.  I was joined by Doug a local paddler from  Banana! - As long as it’s not in my boat man.  roughing it Portage to Portage style After I parted ways with Doug, with plans to paddle together again some day, I continued south another 24 miles with a very strong 20 mph tail wind that put me into Manasota a full hour earlier than I had expected. There I was picked up by Jory who is the owner of “Florida Paddlesports”. The plan was to go to Jory’s shop near Punta Gorda and meet whomever showed up for a “meet and great” event he scheduled at the store. I managed to come in a bit early so we had time to go back to Jory’s place to get some rest and grab a bight to eat first. Because my plans are always changing do to the weather, it’s hard to pre-plan an event around when I might be in town. But even despite the short notice, about a dozen people braved the chilly windy weather this evening and showed up at Jory’s store. It was awesome to have a chance to meet a bunch of local paddlers and to share some of the stories and photos of this trip with them. Several signatures were added to the Ikkuma and I had a chance to meet a bunch of great people. It’s interesting that when I meet people and tell them about what I’m doing a common reaction is comments such as “If only I was a bit younger“, or “I‘d never get that much time off work“, or a host of other reasons that can stop people from attempting a trip like this. All I can say is that most people would never be able to commit to any endeavor that pulls them away from home and family for a year, and I understand that. For all those people that see this trip and only wish they could do something like it I only wish that it might remind them of the adventure that can be found right near home. Perhaps then they might be inspired to do what it takes to do whatever trips they can with what their bodies, time, and lives allow. It doesn’t have to be a thousand mile epic, just go out and have the adventures you can - when, where, and however you can.  a rare shot of me on the water - taken by Doug Day 69 02/12/2010
Start: 7:40 AM- Sarasota, FL Finish 2:40 PM - Manasota, FL Time: 7:00 Daily dist: 23 miles Total dist: x miles Companions: None Weather: NE winds at 15 mph switching to SE headwinds at 20mph Notes: I had planned on pulling off the water by noon but the weather looked like it was going to hold off for a bit longer so I cranked out another 8 miles. I did get caught by the weather and ended up paddling against a very strong head wind with big rain for the last three or four miles.  Curious heron checking out the Ikkuma Somehow I managed to string seven days of people to stay with right in a row. With that the “Portage to Portage Paddling Project” is rapidly running the risk of becoming “Jake’s Couch Surfing Safari”. After three nights with my friends Russel and Claudia I spent last night with Ann my buddy’s little sister and today I was picked up by Doug Gilliliam and stayed with him and his wife Debbie. At a certain level I must admit it feels a bit like I’m cheating. However, the goal of this trip is not to see how much trouble and suffering I can endure, it’s to meet the people who live along the route. Meeting Doug is an example of just how intimate the paddling community is. His son Taylor is going to school in San Diego and had stopped by Aqua Adventures several times to join us for our weekly Thursday night paddle. Taylor brought his own boat and Greenland paddle and watching him on the water it was obvious that he’d been doing this for a while. It turned out that he and his dad had done a lot of paddling out in Florida with his dad, everything from touring to surfing. I tried to find time to get out in the waves with him but his class schedule and my work schedule never seemed to allow it. Just the same he is a cool guy and a great paddler. When he heard about this trip he let his dad know and Doug, very early on, offered up a place to stay when I got to the area. These connections that came into focus very early in the trip are very fun for me. When I started out in Wisconsin the thought of catching up with somebody so far away in Florida was hard to grasp. But two months later here I am… it’s a neat feeling. As is so often the case in the kayaking world, Doug knows a lot of the same people I do. He invited one of his paddling friends, Dave, over for dinner and as we talked last night about our past paddling adventures and paddling friends we were often mentioning the same people. The paddling world is truly a small and tight knit community made up of exceptionally good people.  once again a good person braves a chilly morning to drop me off The day started out windy and chilly, this time it was poor Ann standing out in the cold to see me off. The wind was already up and predicted to blow hard then harder as the day progressed. My plan was to tip toe around the weather and get as far as I could before it swung to the south and shut me out completely. I made it to our pre-arranged pick up point by noon and the weather had yet to deteriorate so I decided to push on another eight miles. It was in those last two hours that the wind did finally swing and build to well over 20 mph blowing a hard driving rain right in my face. I crawled the last two miles hiding behind docks and boats along shore and was very grateful to finally pull off at a boat ramp near Manasota Beach just south of Venice. The extra miles were tough but it will pay off by shortening the miles to be covered tomorrow. While I waited under a park awning for Doug to catch up with me to give me a ride home I was very grateful to have a place to go to tonight. This trip has truly been much easier with all the people who have opened up their homes to me, I owe so many my eternal gratitude.  I sat out the rain waiting for a ride in this park shelter Doug is quite an avid kayaker himself who loves to paddle rough water so with big winds in the forecast tomorrow he’s sure to find a little adventure when he joins me for a while tomorrow. It’s going to be great to have company on the water if only for a few hours. Dave and I were also talking about meeting up for an overnighter as I pass through the Everglades. If we can make it work it would be an awesome and welcome change to camping solo. This trip just keeps getting better and better.  Sunset after the storm on Doug and Debbie’s pond Day 68 02/11/2010
Start: 8:15 AM- St. Petersburg, FL Finish: 5:15 PM - Sarasota, FL Time: 9;00 Daily dist: 32 miles Total dist: x miles Companions: None Weather: North wind at 10mph partly cloudy with temps in the low 60’s Notes: First day back on the water after two weather and rest days with my friend Russell The weather is supposed to be trouble tomorrow. With rain and winds predicted to blow out of the NE at 15 mph then swinging to the SE at 20 mph I will have to tip toe around the weather to get any miles in at all. With that knowledge I knew I’d need to make the most out of today’s nice weather and log at least a few extra miles down the coast. Somehow, however, the route I chose on the outside open coast (while it was a fun day) only added miles to the route but didn’t move me any further south than if I had stayed in the Intracoastal. I didn’t know if the islands on the map I was heading toward were dry enough to camp on or if they were if camping was allowed. It’s an unsettling feeling to be heading toward a destination that you know you won’t reach until late in the day and even when you do if you’ll be allowed to stop there.  I looked but couldn’t find a worse picture of Russell It was with that nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I got a call this afternoon from my friend Dave Lindo at OKC Kayak out in Oklahoma City. He’s been watching my progress and knew I was nearing Sarasota. It just so happens his little sister lives in Sarasota very close to Siesta Key which was exactly where I was headed. He had spoken to her and she was happy to take me in if I needed a place to stay. With the option of a place to stay if the islands didn’t work out I was able to relax and enjoy the rolling swell and beautiful emerald green water I was paddling on. I called Ann (Dave’s sister) and made sure she was interested in picking me up. She said it’d be no trouble and had plans to take me out to dinner (per Dave’s orders and pocket book). So the plan was for me to try to paddle down to where she works on Siesta Key then go home with her.  the sun was getting low and I still had miles to go to the take out I pulled hard, but like I said, the miles didn’t go by very fast today so by 5:00 when I was still six miles shy of our planned meeting point I found a backup takeout and called it a day. I was just too tired to slog out another hour and a half of paddling. While I emptied by boat Ann drove over to pick me up. From the boat landing we set about finding a place to grab a bight to eat on big brother Dave’s tab. It was once again a very fortuitous turn of events set about from friends and friend’s of friends that has saved my rear so many times on this trip.  Day 67 02/10/2010
With the wind predicted to blow at well over 15 mph it didn’t take much arm twisting from Russell to convince me to stay another day today. Of course when I got up this morning and Russell lined out the projects he had planned for the day I started to wonder if he really had MY best interests in mind when he checked the weather last night. Having been an intimate part of the Southwest Kayak Symposium in San Diego for the last three years I know how Russell’s mind must be saturated with planning for his symposium which is only a couple weeks away. It also makes me appreciate all the help he’s given me during my visit. I know his time is especially precious as his event draws near. That being said I was more than happy to help out with some of his projects, at least as much as I could while I tuned up my boat and gear. Today I helped put up a privacy screen on the fence in his back yard so when he has a yard full of campers during the symposium they’ll be out of sight of anybody walking past.  Russell’s back yard - full of nice boats - a kayaker’s dream yard  an old friend from my Fort Lauderdale days. When we were done with the day’s chores we went out for some Mexican food at a restaurant just around the corner from Russell’s house. I had found out a day or two ago that an old friend of mine from Fort Lauderdale was actually living in the area. So I gave here a call and she caught up with us at the restaurant. It was great to see another familiar face and even more fun to get caught up a bit after the last six years. From the restaurant it was back to Russell and Claudia’s house to do some last minute re-packing before leaving here early tomorrow morning to get back on the water. The weather looks like it’s supposed to be chilly but not too windy. Friday may be another story. Day 66 (Rest, Repair, and Re-supply) 02/09/2010
It’s been a while since I did a “double” post. You might expect that when I’m out in the middle of nowhere with a weak cell connection it would be the time I don’t get the blog post up for the day. The way it seems to work out however, is just the opposite. It’s when I’m in civilization around people that I’m so busy visiting that I just don’t have time. That’s a good thing, this trip is supposed to be about getting to know the people I meet along the way. If I spent the whole time with my nose down in the computer trying to chronicle what was going on I’d never see it. So thank you for your patience and forgive me for getting a day or two behind on all this blogging. Don't miss reading day 65 below this post. Day 66
The smell of pancakes cooking is what woke me up today. It was Claudia, Russell’s wife in the kitchen whipping up a batch of her gourmet wonders. By the time I was on both feet she had to head off to work so I finished frying up the last few for myself. Warm pancakes are certainly a great way to start a rainy windy day. Today was all about tuning up my gear, catching up on some mail that my mother sent down, and planning my moves over the rest of this month and the next. With lots of time in my boat with not much to do but think I’ve been steering my mind toward trying to figure out how to better utilize the space the boat has. As I near the Everglades I need to have a way to carry a bit more water than I already am. I’ve been brainstorming ideas of re-arranging my gear to allow me to free up space for more water. After the last two months I’ve come up with a pretty consistent method for packing the boat that gets all the gear in without too much fighting but leaves very little slack space. It was hard to imagine any space that wasn’t already being used efficiently. I did have one thought however and today I finally took the time to see if it’d work. After a little brainstorming and simple foot pad alterations, I emptied out a bunch of space behind my seat in my day hatch which is prime real estate in a kayak. What I did was hollow out a space in the 2” foam pad I have for my feet to push on to make room to store the wheels for my kayak cart. The wheels had been in the day hatch so they’d be available without unloading the rest of the kayak. It doesn’t matter if they get wet so it was a shame to have them stored inside the boat. Not to mention whenever I used the cart the wheels would inevitably get muddy and I’d have to clean them off thoroughly before putting them away. My solution keeps them handy and with their location behind a ¼” pad under my feet it doesn’t matter if they’re a little dirty when I put them away. I was pretty happy when I saw how well it was going to work.  The foam block that my feet push on.  The same foam cut out to hold my cart wheels
After working on the boat I focused on sorting through the mountain of mail my mother sent down. The most disturbing bit was the enormous bill I got from the hospital in Vicksburg MS stemming from my post pepper spray visit on New Years Day. The doctor billing people came down on their price (by a half) once they realized that my insurance wasn’t going to be covering this one. From the hospital itself I’m waiting for an itemized bill because, as I told the woman on the phone, the bill is so much higher than I expected that I want to be sure they’re billing the correct person. We’ll see what comes of all of that.  Catching up on paper work. It's not all fun and games
Next, as the rain came down sideways outside, I turned my focus toward planning my moves over the next month and a half. What’s happening is I’m a bit ahead of schedule. Some of the surplus time has come from the week I gained when my parents helped me leap frog over the nasty winter storm that stopped things up on the third day of this trip. My original plan was to reach Fort Lauderdale by the end of February spend a week visiting friends down there, then fly out to San Diego for the balance of March to help out with the Southwest Kayak symposium. Jen and I have discussed it and have decided that there is no reason for me to spend almost a full month in San Diego, two full weeks should be enough. So, that put another week and a half on my calendar. What’s happening now is if I continue at the pace I’ve been going, I run the very real risk of getting too far north too soon. After spending the entire trip so far paddling through areas at the roughest time of year I have no desire to repeat that situation on the Atlantic coast portion of this trip. Interestingly some unique opportunities have presented themselves that look like they will allow me to slow down while still having a fair amount of adventure along the way.  Here is the rough plan for the next month and a half; Daily stats Start: 7:15 AM- New Port Richy Finish: 3:15 PM - St. Petersburg Time: 8:00 Daily dist: 32 miles Total dist: 1800 miles Companions: None Weather: NE 7 mph Notes: A nice tailwind and warm enough to take my jacket off. Re-entered the Intracoastal, nice to have a sheltered water option again. Today was a great day of paddling. The wind was a pleasant 7 mph tail wind from the northeast that made the eight hours of paddling go by nicely. It’s a good thing too because with all the trip planning and corresponding I’ve been doing around this trip lately I haven’t had much sleep over the previous couple of nights. I was a bit sleepy to say the least. Not physically tired at all just ready for a nap all day. The sleepy feeling could be coming from a bit of lack of mental stimulation too. I’m softening to the idea of paddling with an I-pod and some music. At first I said I wanted to be able to hear animal noises and waves and such. But after 1800 miles of paddling I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t miss too much by wearing some ear phones. I’d probably keep the radio turned off for the first couple hours when I could enjoy the morning calm and the peaceful silence that comes with that. But later in the day, when I’ve exhausted my own mind games to keep myself busy, it’d be nice to have some sort of distraction. Beyond that, as people suggested before, earphones and music would block out the constant blowing sounds of the wind the next time I’m beating against a crossing or head wind.  Just a draw bridge but also the point where I re-entered the Intracoastal and sheltered water options Today actually brought with it a change of scenery by way of a huge dose of civilization that was a distraction of it’s own. Because the water is so shallow along the coast, and I’ve had to paddle so far off shore to move efficiently, the shore line has been nothing more than a featureless green band separating the water from the sky. All I’ve had to focus on was the water around me, a few random birds, an occasional dolphin, and any slight variation in the coast line ahead. As I entered the Stillwater/St Petersburg area today I suddenly had buildings, bridges, cars, docks, boats, and everything else you’d find in a city. It was all candy for my eyes and mind. Add the fact that as I passed under the first drawbridge I officially re-entered the Intracoastal Waterway and had substantial land on both sides of me which meant calm water so I could relax and even more for my senses and mind to play with. It was a welcome change and the day went by quickly because of it. Because the weather was finally nice there were also a lot of recreational boaters out today. Without exaggeration I believe I saw more non-commercial boats in use today than I have in the rest of the trip combined. It meant I had to watch out for the increased traffic, but the friendly waves I got from passing boaters was worth it. I can understand why so many people were boating today. It was a nice day, sure, but this area is also a very nice place to see by boat, especially a kayak. Calm clear blue water, big fancy houses to look at, even dolphins playing in the bay. What I really found intriguing were the spoil islands to be found along the dredged out Intracoastal Waterway. Spoil island is a terrible descriptor for what are really beautiful little islands with white sand beaches and shade trees. There are dozens of these islands spaced out along the channel as it winds its way through the interlinked bays that make up the Intracoastal. All day long I kept imagining myself putting my kayak in at a boat launch and paddling a short mile or two to take a nice long nap on a nice little island I’d have all to myself. Lord knows if any of the locals do that but I know I would… at least I would have today being so sleepy and all… How much fun would it be also to do a simple overnight trip on one of those islands too. Your own private island surrounded by glowing city lights. Pretty cool. There aren’t a lot of places that have places like that - where else can you get away from it all while you’re in the middle of it all.  It's all mangroves now - a quiet spot in the middle of town Napping was not in the plan for today however. I wanted to crank out at least thirty miles before I called my friend Russell to come and pick me up. Russell Farrow is the owner of Sweetwater Kayaks located here in St. Petersburg. He is the first person in this entire trip that I already really knew before he picked me up. I’d met Russell when he came out to San Diego to coach at the Southwest Kayak Symposium. Russell is a great kayak coach and paddler, accomplished musician, and all round nice guy. I owe him a lot for taking time out of his busy schedule to pick me up. With his Sweetwater Kayak symposium only a couple short weeks away I know he doesn’t have a lot of time to be entertaining numbskulls like me. I had made plans to paddle a few miles past my normal eight hour goal but as the clock struck 3:00 I came upon a Mc Donalds (full of juicy hamburgers) located right across the street from a very easy take out. So right at the eight hour mark of 3:15 my bow hit the beach and I quickly changed clothes and emptied my boat so I could sneak over and get a bight to eat before Russell came to pick me up. Based on the labels on the wrappers, the two hamburgers and two cheeseburgers I washed down with a coke put about 1200 calories back into my tank. It was a good start. From the take out Russell took me back to his shop to show me around and pick up some of the gear that had mailed in for me. My 20 degree sleeping bag to replace the 0 degree bag I’ve been sweating in lately, a skeg wire to replace the one that got bent in the houseboat incident, some food from home, and a mail drop (bills of course). Russell’s shop is an intimate little building bursting from the seams with everything you need to get out on the water, most importantly the knowledge and training that Russell can provide. It’s a true paddling shop run by people who are passionate for the sport. As it should be.  Russell outside of his Sweetwater Kayaks Store Later we went home and I once again embarrassed myself by eating three times more than a person my size should. Having done more than a few long trips himself, Russell understood my bottomless stomach and smiled wide when I went for my fourth serving of pasta. Day 64 (Superbowl Sunday) 02/07/2010
Daily stats Start: 7:50 AM- Chaz… Springs Finish: 5:15 PM - Island off of New Port Richie Time: 9:25 Daily dist: 35 miles Total dist: x miles Companions: None Weather: Chilly (by Florida standards) with a 10 mph north tail wind Notes: Charlotte dropped me off at the landing and I had a great down wind run. I put on three extra miles and an extra 45 minutes to the time by paddling into Port Richy for a TV interview.
Charlotte and I were up by 5:00 AM in order to have time to drive all the way back to the boat launch and get the Ikkuma re-packed and on the water as early as possible. We weren’t in such a rush that we didn’t have time for some pancakes, bacon, and eggs for breakfast however. All my gear was nicely dried and rolled tight from yesterday so re-loading my boat was a quick process. Charlotte took a few pictures of me on the water and then we said our good bys and I was on my way with plans to meet up with a TV reporter for an interview later in the day.  Charlotte waves good by from the dock
I have to explain that for the Florida section of this trip I have been utilizing the Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail guide. The guide has been a wealth of information regarding route information such as re-supply points, water stops, showers, restaurants, motels, and camp sites. For the most part I’ve been completely happy with the information the guide has provided. Today, however, I discovered an omission of some vital information that needs to be rectified for future users. Especially young men that have been on the water for two months. Since early yesterday, I have been in contact with Chris from the local TV news station trying to figure out how I could meet up with a camera crew and reporter for an interview. We didn’t have time to meet up in the morning and the only camp site the paddling guide shows in this area is tucked back in the marshy shore line far from any road access. So, in order to meet up with the camera crew I needed a spot where both of us would have access so we could do the interview and I could continue on to the campsite. The town of Hudson, a few miles before the camp, looked like it might work but was less than ideal. Two miles down the coast from the camp a park near New Port Richy was indicated on the guide as a place to get drinking water which could work. However, I didn’t want to have to do a two mile backtrack for the interview so I fired up Google Earth and started looking around the water stop location to see if there might be a place to camp. What do you know a quick search revealed an island just a mile off shore from the New Port Richy entrance. Being just a couple miles from the park indicated on the guide, this spot would enable me to do the interview and still make it a bit further down coast to the island before dark.  Ok then...
Everything went well during the day today and the 10 mph north wind helped me make good time. As I neared the island I called the TV news producer in order to coordinate the exact location where we could meet. Somehow the producer’s GPS showed a different park (other than the one I had found) so I altered my course and ran inside the Port Richy river entrance looking for this other park. After paddling a mile inland, seeing nothing but huge houses, I started to doubt that there was a park where the producer thought there was. I pulled out my cell phone to discover that the reporter that was sent had called twice trying to contact me. When I got him on the phone we discovered that he was indeed at the original park my map showed a mile back out to sea and another mile up the coast. After already paddling nearly two miles out of my way and with daylight rapidly running out I was not interested in back tracking to the other park. So we both turned on our GPS’s and were trying to find land/water access where we could meet. As I scrutinized the tiny screen on my GPS with my phone pressed against my ear I drifted around a large house on a bend in the channel. Right then I looked up and my eyes picked up lettering on the roof of a dock side restaurant a quarter mile away. One by one, past the edge of the house, ten foot tall bright orange letters of the name of the restaurant were slowly revealed; H-O-O-T-E-R-S. “No way,” I exclaimed to the reporter, “a Hooters!” Not only did we both instantly know where I was there was a boat ramp right next door. So that was it, “Meet me at the boat ramp by Hooters.”  Hooters Restaurant - a landmark every man can find.
Ten minutes later the bright red Channel 10 news van rolled into view and we did a quick interview and he shot some video of me paddling back out the channel to the island two miles away. The island itself turned out to be a real gem an absolutely perfect, easy access, clean, level, comfortable spot with a view of the interesting off shore stilt houses found along shore here. So here is my question. How on earth in the Florida Circumnavigational Salt Water Paddling Trail guide can the only campsite shown in this area be some back water spot stuck up in a mangrove swamp. Meanwhile, (completely unmentioned) just two miles away, sits an absolutely beautiful island WITHIN EASY PADDLING DISTANCE OF A HOOTERS RESTAURANT! It’s moments like these that make me question the overall integrity and content of the entire guide book.  Several of these stilt houses are found in the area. | Best of the Blog
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