Wow things have been crazy for me lately, busy hardly describes it. I've hardly had time to sleep much less check e-mails and post on this blog. Sorry my reports have been a little thin over the last few days. I'd like to say that things are going to get back to normal soon but there really is no such thing as normal on a trip like this. Here is what's been going since you heard from me last.  Can't say we were not warned  After returning from the Everglades on Saturday we left our paddling gear in the truck for a trip back south with the “Brits” on Sunday to paddle with the big lizards on the Myakka River near Sarasota.
To say that it was exciting is an understatement. There is nothing quite like sharing a narrow river with literally hundreds of Alligators. We counted over 30 gators within the first half hour of paddling and later saw almost 30 on one beach. One woman in our group had a very close encounter when a gator diving off the bank barely slipped under her kayak and actually made chattering sounds as the plates on his back rubbed against the kayak’s hull.  A little one about to slip into the water  Wow that's close
After the gator experience, we returned to St. Pete and cleaned up all the gear from the weeks adventures. I then got myself all re-packed and organized before finally getting to bed just before midnight. At 2:00 AM my alarm clock rang and a few minutes later I was on the road for the four hour drive back to Fort Lauderdale where I was scheduled to do presentations to three high school classes from 7:00 to 11:00 AM.  Me with one of the classes I presented to Monday
The presentations went great and afterward I had lunch with some friends Colleen and Fred Guido who own the Blue Moon Kayak Outdoor company that I visited last week in Miami. After lunch I franticly checked e-mails and tried to plan the next week of paddling up the coast. Later in the afternoon I met up with another friend from the area Will Murphy and joined him and the a bunch of folks from the Blazing Paddles dragon boat team for a work out paddle on West Lake in Hollywood Florida. It was a fun time and an interesting change of pace from kayaking. Afterward we went out to grab a bight to eat where exhaustion finally caught up with me and I had to call it an early night and finally get home to bed.  A night workout paddle with the Blazing Paddles Dragon Boat Team I had planned on getting on the water early today (Tuesday March 9th) but decided that I better use the morning to get some rest and a little better organized before I get back on the water. So I’ve spent the balance of the morning catching up with more e-mails and ironing the wrinkles out of my plan for the rest of the week. I’m hoping to be back on the water by 11:00 AM this morning (as soon as I get done with this blog in fact) and finally paddling north up the coast again. Much like my run down the west coast of Florida (from St. Petersburg to Naples) the next few days will see me sleeping on couches in friends houses as I paddle through a heavily populated and very developed area of the state. There are plans being cooked for me to join a group paddle on the Silver River next Sunday (March 14th) and Juniper Springs the following Monday. After that I’ll be leaving my boat and gear with a kayaking operator in Cocoa Beach and catching a bus back to Fort Lauderdale where I’ll be flying out to San Diego to help out at the Southwest Kayak Symposium but on by Jen Kleck and Aqua Adventures. I know it’s been a strange ride over the last couple weeks and will continue to be so. But I’m hoping that I’ll still be able to share the interesting bits of my travels (which will include a trip to Baja) before I get back on the route full speed just after Easter. All I can say is stay tuned, it’s going to be an interesting month. Day 89-91 (Quick Post) 03/07/2010
I’m on my way out in a couple minutes with the “Brits” on our way to visit the Mayaka River to see Alligators. In the mean time I wanted to share a few pictures from the last three days of our visit to the 10,000 Islands. The weather was chilly (by Florida standards) and windy but we had a great time and didn’t see a single bug. I’ll add more when we get back tonight.  The 'Brits' depart on their American Everglades paddling adventure  Hauling out at the Pumpkin River Indian Mound  Atop the Pumpkin River Indian Mound a Very unique place in the Glades  The Brits go for an airboat ride Day 87-88 (manatees again?) 03/04/2010
 Don’t check your eyes everyone, you’re not seeing double, I really was just here almost yesterday. However, that trip was for fun, today I was “working”. Yesterday (Tuesday Day 87) the group we affectionately refer to as “The Brits” finally arrived at Russell’s place. You may recall that the reason I’m hanging out over here in St. Petersburg is to help guide a group down in the Everglades, this is that group. Part of the adventure planed for our friends from overseas includes seeing manatee on the famous Weeki Wachee river. After much miscommunication we missed the chance to include this group with our adventure on the river Monday. Tuesday the wind was blowing at well above twenty miles per hour with rain in the forecast, which is far from ideal conditions for paddling even on the river, so we put paddling off and used the day to re-group and get everyone’s gear sorted. A brisk wind was blowing again this morning and a rain shower had us scrambling was we loaded gear into vehicles. But, true to prediction, the grey sky that brought rain in the morning broke up leaving fluffy white clouds floating across a deep blue sky. So it was off to the river to see the famous manatee. On the way up we stopped at a road side stand to purchase some boiled peanuts. The, very southern, drawl of the vendor had our group in stitches. After playing with their well practiced “Deliverance” movie lines, complete with pretty good “American Redneck” accents, they were nearly overwhelmed by meeting someone that REALLY talks like that. I only wish I had taken them to Wal-Mart with me last night where they would have been exposed to a real sampling of the local subculture complete with people smoking cigarettes in the isles of the grocery section.  This trip served as a bit of a shake down of gear and paddlers alike before we head down to the Glades. It’s nice to be sure all the boats and gear fit and function properly before committing to a three day wilderness trip. In addition, most of the boating these folks have done has been in whitewater boats in the UK. They adapted quickly marveling at the speed of these long boats and the extra effort it takes to get them to turn..  Today with more time and energy we paddled all the way to the top of the river where the trail, somewhat disappointingly, ends at a line of buoys stretched across the river and a sign saying “No Watercraft Beyond This Point”. Years and years ago the top of the spring was turned into a large tourist attraction complete with waterslides and the famous underwater mermaid show. Having loads of kayaks sharing the end of the river with women swimming around in mermaid costumes and kids zipping off of waterslides would undoubtedly cause chaos. Just the same the river does keep getting more beautiful as you go up and it is worth the effort especially when you’re rewarded with a relaxing float all the way back to your car parked downstream. We did see a bunch of manatee again, along with more Yellow Tail Jacks, a variety of herons, turtles, and even raccoons.  The group was a bit chilled after getting loaded up to leave so the mission on the way home was to find a Starbucks to get some coffee. After twenty miles of looking we settled on a Mc Donald’s where everyone procured their body warming drink of choice. Next we headed back to Russell’s house where his wife Claudia was once again mobbed with a huge group of house guests for the night. Tomorrow we all leave and she finally gets a taste of normalcy for at least a few days. I‘m sure it will be a welcome relief after dealing with a house full of symposium coaches for the last two weeks. After dinner I went out to pick up a few last minute supplies. By the time I returned the group had already turned in for the night. Apparently the river adventure had taken it out of them a bit and they wanted to be fresh for the first day in the Everglades tomorrow. Our plan is to spend three days in the Glades then check out the gators in the Mayaka river on the way back up to St. Petersburg. I'll probably be out of cell (and internet) contact until Friday but I'll give you an update of our experiences then. This is a very fun group and the weather is supposed to be absolutely perfect so I'm sure there will be good stories to tell. Day 86 (revisiting the manatee) 03/01/2010
With the fun, work, and chaos of the symposium behind us we loaded a trailer full of boats and drove an hour or so north for a relaxing day of paddling on the Weeki Wachee river. The Weeki Wachee is well known for its crystal clear water and abundant winter manatee population. Of the eight of us on the river only one, Jen Kleck, had not seen a Manatee before. This being the last opportunity on this trip for Jen to see these gentle giants we all hoped that we’d see at least one.  The boats were off the trailer and on the water in short order and only a few minutes of paddling put us over a deep spot in the river. There, through crystal clear water alive with schooling Yellow Tail Jacks, we counted at least a half dozen different manatee. Some lazed nearly motionless just a few feet below the surface while others came up for a breath every couple of minutes. Several of the more active animals even threw their tails in the air, much like whales throwing their flukes, as they dove for the bottom.  Jen Kleck eyes a passing manatee  From that pool we continued lazily up the river a couple miles stopping along the way for lunch and to stretch our legs. Along the way we saw at least a half dozen more manatee. Two (seemingly a mother and calf) were sleeping in a sunny quiet spot on the inside of a bend of the river while others swam with the current like torpedoes as though they had an appointment to make downstream. We were well shy of the top of the river when we decided we’d better turn back in order to get Jen to the airport in time to catch her flight. So we turned ourselves around and enjoyed an effortless float back to our cars.  Day 83-85 (Sweetwater Kayak Symposium) 02/28/2010
The last three days have kept me busy from early morning till the wee hours as much as I wanted to get on my computer and share what was going on, I couldn’t keep my eyes open at the end of the day long enough to get anything posted. The 2010 Sweetwater Kayak Symposium was a rousing success. With people coming together from all over the state and country to paddle and have a good time.  I let him sign my boat but he wouldn't let me sign his leg. On Friday people started to arrive from all over the state some were taking classes that day while others simply came in a day early to get settled in. While the coaches and students went out on the water the rest of the staff and volunteers put on the finishing touches for symposium preparations. I came over to help out in whatever way I could be it filling in on a class, moving boats, or hanging banners. I explained to Russell that I was up for anything even washing dishes if that’s what needed to be done. Apparently he took that sentiment to heart when he found me and asked if I’d mind fixing the toilet in the store that picked this busy weekend to give him trouble. A quick run to Lowes for a new flush valve and a few good pulls with a plunger solved the problem. Afterward I helped out with a few more things then found a quiet corner to put the finishing touches on my slide show.  It isn't all kayaking The Bananna Boat Bar next door to the shop was the selected venue for end of the day off the water festivities. We feasted on Lasagna and afterward fired up the projector to share some of our adventures. First up was Kirsten (wife of famous Nigel Foster) who shared her artist’s perspective of many of the exotic paddling destinations she and Nigel have paddled. Afterward I took the stage and told a few of the many stories and showed a bunch of the pictures from the trip so far. Being my first ever slide show I was worried that I’d bore the audience. I did run a bit longer than I’d planned but the show seemed to be well received. What was great for me to see several of the people I’d met and stayed with along the route in attendance at the slide show. It truly is a small community in the paddling world after all.  The weather was a challenge when things got started on Saturday morning with rain and wind pushing people into dry suits and whatever other gear they could find to stay dry and warm. I dodged the rain while working in a storage building trying to diagnose and fix a mystery leak in the rear hatch in a kayak. By the time lunch was laid out the skies parted and it turned into a beautiful sunny day. Having not been on the water for a few days I jumped at the chance to go out for a short jaunt on a stand up board. I’d only ever done standup in San Diego in relatively deep water. Here in the shallow mangrove channels there was a never ending array of fish and bottom features that you can’t see while seated in a kayak but can while standing on a board. It made a quick run through familiar terrain seem like a completely new experience. I also took advantage of a quiet moment to demo a kit built skin on frame kayak that was a fun boat to paddle. My boat repairs on Saturday didn’t solve the problem so on Sunday I took the kayak in question out in the sun where I could take a closer look and I believe I found the source of the problem. While I worked on that boat I took advantage of the warm dry day and laid my Ikkuma out on the kayak stands to do some work on that boat as well. Over the last couple months of travel I’d begun to drag thin spots on the keel strip so I laid on an additional layer to further protect the hull from further damage. Later in the day as things started to wind down we began the process of wrapping things up and saying farewell to friends as they loaded their boats and headed home.  Hey Neil, I traded your truck for a faster ride Day 82 02/25/2010
I fear that these many days off the water may bore the readers of this blog but it's all part of the story so why not share it. Today, with the truck I borrowed from Neil, I drove from Fort Lauderdale back across the state to St. Petersburg where the Sweetwater Kayak Symposium is being held. I had planned on attending the event ever since the earliest planning stages of this trip. I thought early on that it’d be a great way to connect with paddlers from all around the state in one place. The symposium is put on by my friend Russell Farrow and is bringing in some of the biggest names in kayak instruction in the country. A list of people, because of my time at Aqua Adventures in San Diego, whom I consider good friends. The roster also includes Jen Kleck so the chance to see her again made the event something I wouldn‘t have missed for the world. I always thought the symposium would be a great place to connect with paddlers from the area which is one of the things I hoped to do with this trip. For anybody that has never attended an event like this I highly recommend it. Aside from the great instruction you can get, the opportunity to meet and network with paddlers from all around the country is amazing. I've attended and worked at many symposiums over the last several years and each one has been a great time. The coaches and schedule have been sorted out I'm slated to share my slide show with folks Friday night. Beyond that I'm here to be plugged into whatever hole needs to be filled. After helping Jen Kleck run the Southwest Kayak Symposium out in San Diego for the last couple years I know how every bit of help you can find is appreciated. For someone working (or volunteering) on the inside, the intensity around one of these events can be compared to a wedding. The organizer(s) are like the bride and groom putting on the show, they’re the center of attention but not the only reason people have come. The coaches are like the wedding party, they’re here to support the organizers and do a job to make sure the task at hand is accomplished. They’re here mainly for the big show of course but also (because they’re normally good friends) they help a lot with the final set up and execution of the event. The students are like the wedding guests, they are what the whole event is about. The fact that so many are good friends of the event organizers it really does seem like a wedding when everyone arrives and things get rolling. Not being on the actual coach roster and also not being a guest, I guess you could compare my role this time to the busy-body cousin that’s just there to help out… and get free beer at the reception. Anybody that has put on a big wedding can appreciate the amount of work that goes into something like this. A date must be chosen, a venue found, coaches selected, plane tickets purchased, invitations sent out (advertising), you have to help people find places to stay, people must be fed before during and after the event… you get the idea. Financially the event is usually barely a break even affair for the organizer, and you could wonder if it’s worth all the stress and work. However, the fact that it is so much fun to see everyone year after year and provide a venue for students and coaches to interact makes it all worthwhile. I for one, can’t wait to get back to San Diego at the end of March to help out with the Southwest Kayak Symposium once again. It’s going to be great to see all my friends out west all in one place for what is always a fun weekend. Day 81 02/24/2010
Today was another day off the water to be spent organizing gear and such before heading back over to St. Petersburg for the Sweetwater kayak symposium. My young friend Adam has been talking about my trip with his pre-school teacher so she invited me to come in and do a short presentation for the kids. Not sure exactly what I was getting into, but always up for something new, I figured I'd give it a go.  Never thought I'd see by boat in church At 9:00 this morning I moved my boat and paddling gear into the pre-school chapel and after all the kids in the pre-school were assembled and the normal business was attended to I tried to explain my trip and gear to the children ranging in age from three to five years.  Me with Adam's pre-school class As much as I tried to bring it to their level, I fear that the long distances and logistics of a trip like mine were lost on children so young. However, the highlight of the morning came when the kids got a chance to sit in the boat and play with some of my gear.  They loved playing with the gear.  They all got a chance to sit in the kayak as well. Day 80 02/23/2010
Daily stats Start: 7:15 AM- Virginia Key, FL (Miami) Finish: 4:30 PM - Dania, FL (Jake’s old apartment) Time: 9:15 Daily dist: 28 miles Total dist: 2221 miles Companions: Graceland the puppet Weather: Partly cloudy, calm, high 70’s (perfect South Florida) Notes: This was a neat paddle for me through the same waters where I started kayaking 10 years ago. After writing off paddling over the weekend, the plan was hatched to ride down to the office with Neil today and while Neil put in an eight hour day of work, I’d put in an eight hour day of paddling. When I launched into the glassy smooth morning water with a glorious day of weather predicted I know it wouldn’t have been hard to get Neil to trade places. Considering the mess I know I’d make of the NOAA fisheries data he works with I thought better of making that suggestion and stuck with paddling instead.  Graceland the puppet enjoying the early morning calm As I came down the west coast of Florida over the last few weeks many people e-mailed wondering what would come of me as I paddled through the big city of Miami. In their minds the area is nothing more than a scary crime ridden black hole. The city does have it’s rough side but it is most definitely not on the water. Paddling in Miami (and South Florida in general) is a very pleasant experience. The water is generally calm and clear, the boat traffic is tolerable, there are a thousand routes you can take on the hundreds of miles of canals, and there is a lot to see along the way ranging from wildlife such as manatees, and dolphins, to huge condos, mega yachts, and waterside mansions. You may have learned from my recent posts that the friends I’m staying with have a five year old son named Adam. Adam has been wondering when I was going to finally mention that I was going to his house in my blog. Adam lives a couple miles inland so I can’t quite paddle all the way to his house. His uncle Paul however, does live right on the water (in the same apartment we shared when I lived down here) so that became my destination for the day. The big surprise was the fact that today, after spending three weeks riding in steerage with a fuel canister as a pillow, Graceland the puppet got an upgrade to a first class seat on the deck of my boat for the day long ride to his new home with Adam. You may remember that Graceland (named after the answer I gave to win him at the weekly trivia contest at Two Al’s Restaurant) is the puppet that joined me on this adventure over 600 miles back in Carrabelle, FL. Today Graceland got to see some of the many things there are to see on the water between Adam’s parent’s office on Virginia Key and his uncle Paul’s house in Dania. Much of this blog written for five year old Adam to learn about what Graceland saw along the way.  After saying good by to Adam’s dad at his office, Graceland rode with me into the morning calm north around the island to the Port of Miami. There were no ships in just then, but we got a good look at the huge cargo cranes that unload the freighters that come into port.  You can see the huge blue and white cargo cranes behind Graceland  A big Coast Guard cutter Just around the corner from the shipping port is the headquarters for the US Coast Guard. Graceland and I were going to take a shortcut past their docks but we were quickly approached by guards in a patrol boat that politely suggested that we go the long way around. In South Florida the Intracoastal Water Way winds through the interconnected bays inside the outer islands that lie a half mile or less from the main land. The water in some of the bays can often be quite shallow so it’s important to follow the navigation aids to stay in the boat channel. Graceland got a good look at many of those red and green channel markers today.  A green channel marker with a Cormorant bird on top  There are lots of draw bridges along the channel that raise to let sailboats and other tall boats to go past. Graceland got a chance to watch one go up to let a construction barge come through. About half way through the day Graceland and I took a side trip to Oleta State Park. The park is an island of “nature” in a sea of city. In the park you’ll find a maze of great mountain bike trails wrapped around an equally interesting network of water channels winding through the mangroves. It was one of my favorite places to paddle when I was living in the area and it was fun to see it again.  Quiet mangrove tunnel in Oleta State Park The real reason for the quick side trip, however, was to check out the new rental/retail facility for Blue Moon Outdoor Center that is run by my friend Colleen Guido. I got my start in kayak guiding with Colleen’s fledgling Full Moon Kayak Company over eight years ago. Operating with a simple trailer full of about a dozen kayaks, we mostly did evening tours around the Las Olas Islands area in Fort Lauderdale with a few day trips to Oleta and other interesting and beginner friendly local spots. Colleen is a dynamo and I’m very impressed at where she has taken the business. The operation now has dozens of kayaks and canoes doing lessons, rentals, and tours in Oleta along with mountain bike rentals for the bike trails. Her new facility (on which the finish carpenters were still putting the finishing touches) is incredible and is sure to become a focal point in the park. Colleen wasn’t in when I arrived but I did hang out long enough to meet her crew and distract them from work long enough to sign my boat and pose for a group photo.  Me with the crew at Blue Moon Outdoor Center  On the way back out to the main channel Graceland and I discovered a raccoon along the bank foraging amongst the roots of the mangrove plants. Oleta is a special place and is a nice break from the city paddling that exists in the area. Much of the time today I paddled past towering condo buildings and hotels. It’s all interesting in it’s own way and there is never a loss for something to see.  Big condos and beautiful water. Typical Miami paddling. A few hours north of Oleta I finally turned west off the Intracoastal waterway that I was following much of the day up the Dania Cutoff canal. The canal extends all the way out into the Everglades (now pushed over 40 miles away by city) and the first several miles are lined with finger canals, that jut off like side streets, that are lined with apartments, homes, and businesses. It’s this sort of network of finger canals that gave Fort Lauderdale (just north of Dania) the nick name “The Venice of America”. When I moved to Florida ten years ago I was lucky enough to have an apartment that was adjacent to one of those finger canals. To add still more to the luck, my apartment was a one story affair with a long straight wall just inside the front door which allowed me to get a full sized kayak in without any fuss. To go for a paddle all I had to do was take my kayak off the rack in the living room, pull it right out the front door, walk 30 steps to the water, lower it in, and go on my way. If it wasn’t for the fact that it was so easy for me, I’m not sure I would have gotten into kayaking as much as I did.  The end of the finger canal by my old apartment When I first started planning this trip seven years ago I was living in that apartment and it was a dream of mine to be able to paddle from my home up in Wisconsin all the way to my place in Florida. Today that dream became a spooky reality as I turned the corner off the Dania canal and paddled up to my old apartment. My friend Paul (Adam‘s uncle), and roommate at the time, is still living in the same place so Graceland the puppet and I got to share the novelty of linking two important places together. He linked Adam’s parent’s workplace to his uncle Paul’s house and I linked my home in Wisconsin to my old place in Florida.  Graceland with Adam Day 79 02/22/2010
When I woke to the sound of rain blowing against the side of the house my first thought was "well it's going to be a rough wet day on the water". However, before I got ready and joined Neil on the drive down to work in Miami where I had left my boat, I turned on the weather channel to discover that while today's weather is dismal, tomorrows weather will be absolutely perfect. So why not wait a day and enjoy the 28 mile run I plan to do up to my old apartment in Dania. I had a slide show to tune up and e-mails to catch up on, so instead of slogging into the wind and rain I put my feet up and sorted pictures all day. Days 77 and 78 02/21/2010
Don't miss the recap of days 74-76 below this post. I added a bunch of great pictures and a video of the end of the Gulf and start of the Atlantic Coast sections of this trip.After a long hard push from St. Petersburg (near Tampa) to Miami I am finally with my friends in South Florida. Everybody I’ve crossed paths with over the last two weeks has heard all about how excited I was to get here. It is here that I moved after college and got my start in kayaking and I couldn‘t wait to be in my old stomping grounds with great old friends.  Me with my friend Neil I was also looking forward to making it here because it would mark the end of the Gulf Coast and beginning of the Atlantic Coast legs of this trip. What was more motivational still was the fact that here is where I plan to “base camp” while I deliberately slow down the pace of this trip while waiting for the weather to warm up north. If I continued on at the pace I’m going I’d be right back into Atlantic cold and storms way too early in the season. Over the next month I’ll be resting, and trying to put 15-20 pounds on my frame while I jump back and forth across Florida (and the rest of the country) working at kayak symposiums and ironically re-visiting the Everglades while I help guide a group down there. When I last visited four years ago my friends Neil and Heather (with whom I’m staying) had one ten month old baby. In the four years since they’ve added two more filling the house with a four month old (Zach), a two year old (Seth), and the four year old (Adam). It suffices to say that the energy level and intensity surrounding Neil and Heather’s home has changed. Yesterday, with a weekend of kids birthday parties already planned, Neil and I tried to coordinate a paddle together from Virginia Key (where I arrived Friday) up to Oleta park in Miami. The normal “three kids” morning chaos ensued and before we knew it we found ourselves racing the clock to try to pull the outing off. Finally we wised up and decided to give kayaking (and my body) a rest and concentrate on a well planned BBQ instead. While Heather went off to the bulk superstore to purchase the vast amounts of meat needed to fill my bottomless gut, I was sent on a mission to the local grocery to acquire the beer required to make good on the promise I had made down in Key Largo. Even my brother Aaron called to remind me that I had promised to drink a beer in celebration if I made it all the way to Miami by Friday. -- You see I don’t drink, for no real reason than I choose not to, so when I say I’ll have a drink it’s cause for fanfare amongst my friends. -- Neil and his brother Paul (also a good friend of mine) put their heads together to select the perfect beer for the occasion. Selecting the perfect brew turned out to be quite a process and I wondered if they thought that hard during their SAT tests. They both had given up beer for Lent but for this they were willing to bend the rules and have a beer with me. They selected Blue Moon as the beer of choice and I was sent out o acquire a six pack while they stayed home to watch the boys. When I got to the store and discovered there were no six packs, only cases of the selected beer, I phoned the house and got Paul. After explaining the predicament and asking what other beer I should get he quickly suggested that I “just get the twelve pack.” Apparently the Lenten rules would be bent a little more. By the time I made it back to the house (never send a hungry man to the grocery store) the brats and burgers were on the grill and the house was filled with the sights, smells, and sounds of old times with the addition of the kids adding to the excitement. I had set my tent up in the back yard to air out which, of course, quickly became a focal point for the kids. Neil was a bit nervous to have the boys playing in the tent but I assured him that after seeing the strong winds and rough handling the tent had been through that there was nothing they could do that would hurt it. As I watched them play for a while, however, I finally decided that perhaps it was time to put the tent away. If only we could bottle all that energy.  Seth and Adam  Adam and Seth playing in my tent. The brats and burgers were done to perfection and we feasted on those as well as salads and baked apples from Paul’s fiancée Stephanie . Finally Neil proposed a toast to making it to Miami and we celebrated the accomplishment with a tall cold one. Today (Sunday Day 78) I passed on the opportunity to join the family for a friend’s four year old child’s birthday choosing instead to get some quiet time and catch up on the blog and finally start to prepare the slide show I’ll be giving over at the Sweetwater Symposium next Friday. At this point I have over 1200 photographs to go through as well as a bunch of videos. It’s also time to start planning the Atlantic coast leg of this trip so I’m sorting through all of the e-mails I’ve received over the last three months from people along the route. I never thought the administrative side of this trip would be so involved but it’s definitely worth it in order to share the experience with everyone else. Tonight we’re planning on firing up the grill again, this time to burn some chicken in celebration of a visit from Susan (another old friend from South Florida) who is in town from Charleston on a trip for work. As well as Lisa and Bill who live not too far away. It really is like old times. |  Photo by Michael Franklin AuthorJake Stachovak SPONSORS
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