December 21, 2016 Day #1 Everglades Trip- We left Vermont on a Monday at 4:37 PM ; it was 13° and we had a foot of snow on the ground. We spent the weekend on stage at the Barre Opera House performing in the Moving Light’s Green Mountain Nutcracker. It went from -10° to 48° and rain and back down again to zero. Colleen wanted to go on a trip because we’re building a house come summer and the only trips will be taking will be to the lumber store so we spent 32 hours in a truck heading south on I-95.
I drove till 2:30 AM bay and Colleen took over and drove until 8:00 AM. We spent a few hours in Savannah Georgia at a Whole Food supplying for our multi day paddle in the Everglades and then drove 8 hours to Everglades City of Florida arriving at 1:00 AM and spending the night in the truck for a total of 40 hours in our Tacoma.
I was second in line for permits and selected a route that got us a night on a river one on a chickee and three nights on the gulf camping on beaches. Colleen packed the kayaks while I got water and fruit and we hit the water by noon for the 9 mile paddle to the Lopez River campsite. I wasn’t sure how long it would take us to make the 9 mile paddle but we did it under 4 hours to my surprise.
We paddled under a bridge and beside a causeway on the initial jaunt hitting some real shallow water and almost being swamped by a non slowing down speedboat. We then crossed a big open bay before crossing TWO smaller ones to the mouth of the Lopez River.
The campsite was not where the map showed it to be but we found it right and are sharing it with a solo paddler coming the other way out here on his 10th day doing the Wilderness Waterway South to North. Cameron is his name and we have the tent all setup and are making Mac and ham and cheese and looking forward to sleeping horizontal and not in the truck. The sun is setting in the west, the temperature is in the seventies, mosquitoes are buzzing and I have a sunburn on my arms and an appetite.
December 22 2016 day #2 Everglades adventure- I stayed up with Cameron last night and we talked baseball and satellites rocket ships and airplanes then i got in the tent and monkeyed Ambiana and Jakobi while Colleen teared up reading her outlander book we slept without the rainfly on to keep cool and stargaze up through the mangroves it was great to sleep stretched out. Woke to a foggy morning mist flowing down the river with the outgoing tide. After a breakfast of granola Chia seeds coconut flakes, if dried cranberry pecans and some banana I packed up the camp while Colleen packed what I packed into the kayaks Cameron packed up too and we all shoved off around 9:00 AM me with Jakobi in the front hatch cockpit today and we lazily paddled 11.5 miles through winding small streams and across four rather large bays with twisty narrow egresses. we are with the tide most of the way and the paddling is pretty easy the sun driftd in and out of clouds and flocks of black birds dart and dash all around us. we see egrets and herons along the way I enjoy following the map and the channel markers and thanks be to Cameron for pointing out to us which channel the Sweetwater chickee is set on as on the map it looks to be in a completely different spot it saved us a frustrating hour or two of frantic paddling.
We saw several powerboats, a passel of Christmas caroling canoeist and the porta potty service boat which had just refresedh the potty on the chickee we’re heading for. the girls are both bored and barely paddle, and say it looks all the same Ambiana fiddles with her hair all the time while Jakobi does her best to annoy me by standing rocking the boat and paddling backwards she is the best when she Curls up in her cockpit and takes a nap.
By 3:00 PM the chickee was in sight getting our gear out of the hatches and onto the platform took some ingenuity they are made with canoes in mind but we got it done while I set up a tent and Colleen hung hammock to girls got naked and dumped water over their heads and comb their hair I stuck a paddle in the water and found it was only 4 feet deep so no swimming for me Jakobi took a short dip but after seeing the first alligator and then a second one close to shore we decided no more swimming Jakobi won our family UNO game. Colleen is cooking dinner all is beautiful and Jakobi is bored
December 23, 2016 Day#3 Everglades adventure. We spent the night surrounded by alligators. Before we turned in we kept seeing them circling around us and Ambiana discovered the mangrove tunnel they seem to be entering and exiting. When we awoke one alligator lay just off the chickee, just the eyes above water, watching us. We packed up and Colleen, balancing on her knees on the kayak deck, successfully stuffed all our gear in the hatches while I handed it down to her. Then it was down the ladders, into our boats and off into the alligator infested waters. As we exited the Sweetwater channel we spied a gator in the middle of the channel and passed it by; one on either side of it. The sky was overcast and sprinkles greeted us upon departure but no rain really fell. The weather here moves from east to west which is new to us. As we backtracked 2 miles to where we turned east yesterday we kept just ahead of the rain.
Once into the Chatham River the current and wind at our backs swiftly carried us to the gulf. We encountered a far off guy in a paddle boat and almost ran aground on a sandbar, having to backtrack around it but soon we were at the Gulf of Mexico and our apprehension of a rough transition melted away as the water was calm with no transition what to speak up. We paddled a mile to a mormon key and pulled ashore on a receding tide.
We had the key to ourselves. We found a nice little spot to pitch our tent and set up camp. The beach is littered with big shells and we spent the afternoon relaxing, going for a few dips in the sea and dealing with some family dynamics. The bugs are no better here than elsewhere which drove the girls to the tent soon after sunset even though we have a sweet beach fire going. Jakobi did join me there for a bit and we renamed the constellations: we have ‘the box’ and ‘the vacuum cleaner’. I joined the tent gang for some games and a round of Kumbyya. And had some alone time at the fire before snuggling in and telling stories in the tent before sleep.
December 24 2016 – Day #4 Everglades kayak adventure- We woke up on Mormon Key, the tide rising and after breakfatst I packed up camp while Colleen packed up the kayaks. The girls lathered up with sunscreen, Ambiana got Colleen’s hat; Jakobi her sunglasses and we pushed up into the Gulf for the 4 1/2 mile paddle to Pavillion key. We crossed first to the nearest point of land and then paddled from point to point until we were near the keys that sheltered pavilion, and we headed across, first to Duck key covered with birds and then between key’s two and three where on the other side, once we came between them, we could see the long northern stretch of Pavillion key; a long white beach and a porta potties. The seas were 1 1/2 to 2 feet high and I could see how easily it would be to get swamped and us with no life jackets, except for Jakobi, and no skirts to cover our cockpits and keep water out.
We landed on a high tide and scouted around. This key surpasses by far in beauty the key we just came from, shaded, less buggy and with a long Sandy Beach on one side and a nice sheltered spot for the tent on the other. We set about making camp then ate avocado & tomato in cheesy wraps for lunch and got naked and took a brief swim. The water never got higher than mid thigh. Perfect for Jakobi but less inviting for the rest of us.
We lazed away the afternoon. Colleen walked arounnd the key, Ambiana danced on the strand, Jakobi collected shells and feathers and made an altar and I read a bit of Rat Girl, Kristin Hersch’s memoir of 1985. We watched the tide get low and the girls dug snail trails in the muck and Colleen and I took a walk. A couple in a canoe showed up and I watched them unload through my binoculars. Colleen struggled with the stove and made a split pea & orso mush for dinner which we took to the other side of the key for sunset dinner then took a family walk around the spit and met our neighbors. Back at camp i made a driftwood fire, which burned long and hot and we wonder why driftwood burns so well.
We made our last set of smores and sang songs and the girls put on shows for us. We’re getting ready to go in the tent, teeth brushing and the like, when Colleen took a step towards the sea to spit in the surf and the sand exploded with light beneath her feet. Phosphoresence!! We dragged our toes through the sand leaving starry trails, we splash in the water creating showers of stars. The small waves breaking were all aglow and when I peed in the water my pee left a glowing stream. It was an enchanted bedtime. I washed everyone’s feet free of sand and Jakobi hung a sock from a tree and then I went straight to dreamland while the girls played a game of Skip-Bo and Colleen read.
December 25, 2016 Day #5 Everglades kayak adventure- I woke up and caught the sunrise on Pavillion key. The girls asked me if I had heard the boat arrive last nightand the boys who were in it, I did not but i went across the key and met the three young men who came ashore last night to do some fishing. Jakobi’s stocking was still empty and I thought about leaving it so but her belief in Santa is so cute that I found a shell and slipped it in when she was not looking. Colleen did the same with an apple. We ate our breakfast and packed up the kayaks and headed out to Rabbit key. It was a short four mile paddle over 5 foot deep water and we hopped from Key to Key before pointing our boat to our destination and riding the wind and tide to it. We landed again at high tide and found the key already occupied. “How’s it going we ask the teen boy we fnd and he replies ” not so good, our kayak sank yesterday and we are stuck.” And so we meet Chris and Phil. Chris had tried to persuade a fishing boat to rescue them but the old man aboard said he had his own problems. So we will rescue them tomorrow. We can fit Jakobi in with Colleen and the teen can paddle in the front while Chris paddles the remaining kayak.
Two other kayakers, an older couple in separate tents also showed up. We gave them a choice of a camp site which started an argument between them as a guy wanted the spot we were keen on even though we said he could have it. No matter iwe got to camp in a shady hollow and went about the routine of settling in. The tide went way out and Ambiana. Jakobi and I splashed in the ankle deep water. It is so sweet out here, kneeling naked in the water surrounded by water and distant keys, a limitless horizon to the west over the gulf, Flocks of birds alighting from trees, others pickin’ their way along the shore, fish jumping, the clooud armada sailing in formation from east to west, the sun shining down on it all.
After a filling cheesy mashed potato pasta dinner Jakobi and I were gathering firewood out on the spit connecting us to the next key, Jakobi spies some fins out in the shallows; dolphins or sharks? She ran to get the binoculars which reveal them to be gottdefinately sharks! Thrashing about and feeding on schools of fish in the foot deep water. I’ve never seen shark fins cutting through the water like that and it was thrilling but menacing. I ventured along the coast and retrieved some big hunks of driftwood and built big bonfire on the stand where we sat and enjoyed the flames and the stars with Chris and Phil and when it died down it was back to our tent-dream of a home for a night of slumber.
we woke up on December 26 and packed up camp and coordinated with Chris about the rescue. Jakobi sat in Colleen’s cockpit and Phil sat in front and paddled. We had room for a dry bag or two of theirs in the hatch. Chris had loaded the rest of the gear in their remaining kayak and off we went with Chris to rendezvous with us on the other side of the key
we woke up on December 26 and packed up camp and coordinated with Chris about the rescue. Jakobi sat in Colleen’s cockpit and Phil sat in front and paddled. We had room for a dry bag or two of theirs in the hatch. Chris had loaded the rest of the gear in their remaining kayak and off we went with Chris to rendezvous with us on the other side of the key. As we passed the south of the adjoining key we spotted Phil’s kayak on the lee side of the key among the mangroves. It was full of water and mud so we continued on. In the next bayay we spotted Chris and as we waited for him to catch up we spotted a shark fin along the shore. Chris wanted to go back in check on the boat and told us he would catch up and so we continued on our way.
It was a beautiful paddle among keys and channels; no major exposed crossings and going against the tide was not a major issue. For the most part the map matcedh the terrain except near the end where there was some confusion because what was exposed shoals on the map was under water. Once we figured this out we were practically back and it was across the bay to the visitor center, arriving just before noon. We spent 2 hours packing up and getting the kayaks on the truck and just before we were about to leave Chris showed up, he had towed the kayak in, stopping it at Chockaloosa Isand and walking the causeway back to the visitors center. By 2:00 PM we were headed north.
We stopped at a Whole foods in Naples, re-supplied and ate dinner. The girls, all they want is sushi. And of course we found a frozen yogurt place amid the luxurious mall.
Manatee Springs State Park
We drove 4 hours north to Manatee Spring State Park and found a locked gate but were lucky that someone was exiting and were able to slip in and occupy a vacant campsite. We spent the next day at the park and springs which contrary to Collins memory are not geothermal and because it was the cold out or it was not full of manatees though we did spy a couple in the river from the viewing deck at the end of the boardwalk.
Kennedy Space Center
On Wednesday we drove to the ocean side of Florida and Ambiana and I spent the afternoon at the Kennedy space center ($90.00 for the two of us) whilel Jakobi and Colleen went to a zoo. The space center had completely transfigured since I was here in 2002 and is now more of a theme park then a visitor center/ museum. It had a really cool exhibit hall built around the actual space shuttle Atlantis’ and we watched a cool thr IMax movie about the next generation spacecraft Orion.
Charleston S.C.
Colleen and Jakobi picked us up at 7:00 PM and we went out for sushi and then drove 6 hours north to Charleston South Carolina to visit Susanna and my mom who had just gotten off their Christmas cruise to the Bahamas. We spent two nights with them and even got to see this Scahill’s who came up to visit mom and were surprised to see us! We spent some time of the beach and the girls simply love thier Aunt Susanimal. We had to tear them away to leave on Friday afternoon to drive north to a frozen spike ball covered campsite in Delaware.
American Museum of Natural History, NYC
We got in at 1:18 AM and left at7:30 AM, camping and dashing and on the way to New York City and the American museum of natural history. We cruised right into Manhattan with absolutely no traffic and arrived at the museum parking garage at 10:00 AM. Pparking in New Jersey and taking the bus would have cost twice as much as it does cost to park at the museum. the garage would not lt us in with a propane tank in the truck and one of the guards suggested I run into central park and hide it so I do, stuffing it under a bush but still visible because it is winter and there’s no foilage. We then spent 3 hours wandering the halls of the museum appreciating the dioramas and space exhibits and after I retrieve the propane tank we go out for what else sushi. we then drove out of the city, again with no traffic, and cruise north through Conneticut and into Massachusetts where we spend New Year’s Eve with Molly and Gaelen.
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