When I began this journey, my goal was to find Life after Death; specifically, my life after Lexie’s death. I needed to find out who I was. Where was the happiness I had with Lexie and where was I going. I needed to be able to be happy again. I turned to the one element that always brought me peace – Water. I set my sights on Key West for Key West was the farthest south I could go by kayak.
Category: Kayak Trip
Canada to Key West Paddle – Day 56
The paddle was leisurely compared to the day before and I had to laugh when a fisherman I was paddling bye commented that I was brave paddling against the current; if he’d only known what I had paddled through to date. Life is relative to your prior experiences. As I approached my last bridge in New Jersey, I turned on my VHF radio to listen to the large fishing boats talk to the Bridge Tender and each other. I enjoy listening to their chatter. I passed under the bridge, turned to Starboard and I was officially in Cape May.
Canada to Key West Paddle – Day 55
Shortly after I departed, I was trying to stay out of the boat channel, as it looked narrow. Suddenly, my paddle was touching bottom. I shortened my stroke, but the ground was coming up fast, due to low tide. I was trying to get back to deeper water but the wind had other ideas for me. Then it happened. I ran aground…in a kayak!
Canada to Key West Paddle – Day 54
The tide that had been fighting me started helping me as I neared the next inlet and I reached the end of Sea Isle in record time. I was surprised at how small this inlet was. There was a drawbridge that had to be opened to let the big fishing vessels in from the ocean. I easily paddled across this inlet and reached Avalon just after 5pm.
Canada to Key West Paddle – Day 53
I awoke this morning feeling down, but this time it wasn’t from the paddling or what lay ahead, but today was Lexie’s 13th Birthday. I should have been planning a nice steak dinner for my little girl and not paddling 2000 miles trying to find Life after Death, but she’s no longer here and that is what I’m doing. Mommy and I miss you terribly Peanut.
Canada to Key West Paddle – Day 52
We can fight physical challenges and often, humans do very well with the physical, but the emotional challenges are much harder to overcome. Often, failure is not due to physical limitations, but emotional ones. After lunch I began to battle my mind. While I now had a few great nights meeting wonderful people, the loneliness on the water is getting to me. This is the battle I set out to conquer as the loneliness was also affecting me in Vermont too. My mind was full of a strong desire to quit.
Canada to Key West Paddle – Day 51
August 21st 2016 Tuckerton, NJ Rutgers University Marine Field Station I awoke early this morning to the sound of high tide coming in. I quickly checked on Lex-T-Sea and saw her moving in the water. Although she was tied off, I decided to pull her up out of high tide and then back to sleep…
Canada to Key West Paddle – Day 50
After a rough emotional day yesterday, today was energizing. I left the marina around 9:30 am and paddled down the canal and into the bay. As soon as I hit the bay, I checked my route so I could try to find a landmark to navigate to and realized I’d be paddling right across the large open bay. I was a bit nervous about that as there were no real boating lane here so I’d have to watch all around me for large recreational fishing boats to make sure the saw me. I picked a water tower barely visible on the Eastern Shore of the bay and I began to paddle.
Canada to Key West Paddle – Day 49
Since landing on Sandy Hook, I’ve lost my drive. At first I figured it was because of the struggle to get through NYC Harbor without being run over. Then battling the Atlantic, then the beach regulations. Now being on the Bay side, the water is easier to deal with and the people are nice, but I still don’t have my drive and desire.
Canada to Key West Paddle – Day 48
August 18th 2016 Point Pleasant, NJ I’m right back where I began, well almost. Today started off perfect. Martha and Steve took Arlene and I to the boardwalk, just a few houses away. I could see Jenkinson’s, on the Boardwalk, but it was the Palm Trees that really caught my eye. Palm Trees! I’m in…