Day 170 (remering what its all about)

Daily stats
Start: 6:00 AM- State line on Assateague Island, MD
Finish: 2:00 PM - Ocean City, MD
Time: 8:00 Hours
Daily dist: 20 miles
Total dist: 3200+ miles
Companions: None
Weather: 10+ mph head wind, fog sun then fog then less fog then more fog…
Notes: A long day for not much mileage. I normally do 20miles in five hours

Today was challenging from the start. At 4:30 AM my internal alarm clock went off and I woke to the walls of my tent already shaking in the wind. Apparently the 5-10 mph winds that had been predicted had grown and got an early start. After loading the boat and strapping or tying down anything that could be swept off the boat I launched through the surf and paddled swiftly out past the breakers. I then turned the Ikkuma 90 degrees left and paddled north into the fog.

Sky water and fog...didn't I use this picture yesterday... If you look closely you can see a whale doing a back flip

Fog and persistent head winds were the name of the game. Eighteen miles of sloppy water and wind separated me from the Ocean City inlet where I had planned to spend the second half of the day paddling on the inside. If I’d been able to maintain my normal pace there would have been hopes of crossing into Delaware before the day was done. This would have set a new (one state in one day) record for the trip. However, Mother Nature had other plans. The 10 mph head wind I started out with built throughout the morning to a 10-15 mph head wind and worked against me like I couldn’t believe. My normal pace would have put me to Ocean city by 11:00 AM when that time came I fired up my GPS (seems how I couldn’t see land to tell where I was) and realized that I still had at least two hours to go. Quickly I had to start coming up with an alternative plan for where to spend the night, because at that rate I’d never make it to where I’d planned.

Thankfully after coming into the dicy Ocean City inlet against a monster outgoing tide I spotted very camp-able sand shore on the south side of the inlet. With that matter taken care of I decided that I’d paddled far enough for the day. Especially considering the very long days of paddling I had over the last two days. Seems how camping was figured out I decided to land in town and see if I could check things out. Luck was with me and the jet ski rental place just inside the inlet had a nice sand beach that they let me land on and leave the Ikkuma while I walked into town. They were also nice enough to let me hang up my tent and rain fly to dry while I was playing around.

Jet skis are normally a kayaer's enemy but these guys were great

It was a bit of a culture shock to say the least going from quiet sandy islands shrouded in fog to full on carnival boardwalk blitz. But that’s what Ocean City, MD is all about. A wide boardwalk (with actual boards) lined on both sides with T-shirt shops, candy stores, funnel cake stands, and even a Ripley’s Believe It Or Not complete with a giant animatronic shark jutting from the wall. I tracked down the caramel corn stand that the guys from the jet ski place recommended

Yes, I have seen sharks on this trip...huge ones.

While I munched on the carmel corn I went in search of something more substantial for lunch and when I saw a sign for Calzones I figured that'd be perfect.  So I wandered into Caruso Pizza and Subs ordered my calzone and sat down at a table next to an outlet so I could charge up my computer. The owner of the store, Scott Bruning, noticed the “Aqua Adventures” sticker on my computer which was spread out on the table in front of me and asked me about it. I told him about the store and about this trip. The next thing I knew I became a ten minute celebrity in the store. Scott introduced just about everyone that came in, as well as all the staff, to the kayak guy who’s paddling around the country. I was happy that the trip made an impression on Scott and many of the others in the store. Before I could leave Scott hooked me up with two sandwiches for the road as well as a Caruso Pizza T-shirt and bumper stickers for my boat.

Me with the crew at Caruso - left to right Rob, Vance,Shannon, Mathew, and Scott Bruning

Back at the jet ski place the guys working on the docks had become increasingly interested in what I was up to and had several questions for me when I returned. They all signed the boat and posed for a quick snap shot before I shoved off to paddle across the channel to tonight’s camp. It was a frustrating day to start but I’m glad I got slowed down and took the opportunity to see a place I would have normally just passed by.