Day 175 05/29/2010
Daily stats Start: 6:30 AM- Beach Haven, NJ Finish: 11:00 AM - Barnegat, NJ Time: 4:30 Daily dist: 20 miles Total dist: 3550 miles Companions: None Weather: Rain and east wind 5-10+ but partly sunny by noon Notes: A short day of paddling followed by a tour of the town and wonderful visit with fantastic people. Paul and Bernice Teare  The Barnegat Lighthouse This morning at about 2:00 AM I woke to the sound of rain falling on my tent. It’s a great tent and very dry in the rain so I just snuggled back in to enjoy a couple more hours of sleep. When I woke again at 5:00 and it was still raining I knew I’d probably have to break camp between showers which was the case and is always an interesting process. It rained on and off until about 10:00 yet holiday weekend boaters were already out in droves. The traffic was no worry as I was able to cruise close to the shore and enjoy watching docks and weekend homes pass by. Along the way I saw several sleepy eyed kids pulling up their crab traps, first thing in the morning, to see what may have crawled in overnight. By 11:00 twenty short miles after I got started I paddled right up to the vacation home of Paul and Bernice Teare in Barnegat, NJ. Paul and Bernice are the parents of Brian who is a co-worker of my friend Neil down in Miami. You gotta love how connections through friends can help you find a nice place to stay and wonderful people to visit on a trip like this.  Paul and Bernice Teare After finally meeting the people who so graciously offered up hospitality to a person they didn’t even know, I was directed toward the first hot shower I’d seen in ten days. It was terrific. Afterward we had lunch and then Paul showed me around the island (at least the quieter north end of it). We visited the light house which, from the top of the 217 steps that wound up the inside, offered a great view of the bays and marshes I’d been paddling through that morning. From the lighthouse we went to the old one room school that’s been converted to a historical museum to see the original Fresnel lens that used to be in the lighthouse. When the folks there learned about my trip they were quite impressed and put my name in the daily log as a “celebrity” visitor. One of the museum guides suggested we stop by a gentleman’s house on the way home to see the wooden kayak he had built. We indeed did stop and met Merrill Thin who showed us the beautiful cedar wood strip kayak he’d built over the fall and winter. We ended our tour back at the house where we enjoyed great conversation and a wonderful pork loin dinner prepared by Bernice.  The Teares Jersey Shore vacation home  Looking south from the lighthouse over the bay and marshes I've been paddling. CommentsLyn Stachovak 05/30/2010 7:02:28 am It's time you started thinking of yourself as more than "just Jake from Wisconsin". Hey! You're the KAYAK GUY! Get used to it. Instead of just watching a taping of the Letterman Show you should be ON the Letterman Show eou get to New York. Steven Krause 05/30/2010 8:51:23 am I agree with your mother. You should be on the Letterman Show. But then you'd have to think of the Top Ten Reasons For Making This Trip! Leave a Reply | Best of the Blog
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