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.
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.
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;
First, I’m still going to hustle over to Fort Lauderdale over the next ten days or so. I’ve got a lot of very good friends over there that I can’t wait to see.
Besides having time to visit, it’s important to get there in a timely manner in order to give me time to get back over here at the end of the month to help out with the Sweetwater Symposium. I’m even going to be doing a slide show and telling the tales of the trip so far. Russell’s symposium was always on my calendar but after he named off the roster of awesome coaches he’s bringing in this year (especially Jen), I wouldn’t miss it for the world.
I won’t be running right back to Fort Lauderdale to resume the trip right after the symposium. Instead I’ll be hanging out for a few days, paddling some of the local waters and spending time with friends. Later in that first week of March a group of paddlers is due to arrive from the United Kingdom that I’m going to join on a trip back into the 10,000 Islands and Everglades. I will have just cruised through on my way to Fort Lauderale two weeks earlier but this time I’ll be taking the time to show them around and really see the sites.
After the return to the Everglades I’ll be driving back over to Fort Lauderdale and getting back on the route to continue north for about eight days before I fly out to San Diego for the Southwest Kayak Symposium. I’ll be out west until the end of the first week of April when I’ll finally resume the trip full speed in hopefully spring like weather on the East Coast.
All of this running around won’t allow the run along the keys to Key West that I had plotted as a potential side trip but I think all the other adventures I’ll be getting into will more than make up for it.
Aside from eating more food (no surprise there I’m sure) that sums up my day off and gives you a preview of what’s to come in the next several weeks. Now all I have to do is get back on the water and make it happen.
Besides having time to visit, it’s important to get there in a timely manner in order to give me time to get back over here at the end of the month to help out with the Sweetwater Symposium. I’m even going to be doing a slide show and telling the tales of the trip so far. Russell’s symposium was always on my calendar but after he named off the roster of awesome coaches he’s bringing in this year (especially Jen), I wouldn’t miss it for the world.
I won’t be running right back to Fort Lauderdale to resume the trip right after the symposium. Instead I’ll be hanging out for a few days, paddling some of the local waters and spending time with friends. Later in that first week of March a group of paddlers is due to arrive from the United Kingdom that I’m going to join on a trip back into the 10,000 Islands and Everglades. I will have just cruised through on my way to Fort Lauderale two weeks earlier but this time I’ll be taking the time to show them around and really see the sites.
After the return to the Everglades I’ll be driving back over to Fort Lauderdale and getting back on the route to continue north for about eight days before I fly out to San Diego for the Southwest Kayak Symposium. I’ll be out west until the end of the first week of April when I’ll finally resume the trip full speed in hopefully spring like weather on the East Coast.
All of this running around won’t allow the run along the keys to Key West that I had plotted as a potential side trip but I think all the other adventures I’ll be getting into will more than make up for it.
Aside from eating more food (no surprise there I’m sure) that sums up my day off and gives you a preview of what’s to come in the next several weeks. Now all I have to do is get back on the water and make it happen.
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