SUMMER'S END

This spring and summer brought us some amazing kayak adventures. It also introduced us to the perils of a Gulf oil spill. We had some wonderful trips, some exciting adventures and lots of new experiences. Our kayaking season began very early this year, when the air was still cool and the sun not too warm. We kayaked every Saturday and Sunday, especially after the oil spill.

One of our first trips was to Wakulla River where we experienced for the first time the delights of the manatees. What a beautiful river and what friendly creatures. We oohed and ahhed over the adult manatees as much as the baby manatees. They really are magnificent creatures.

We spent weekends at Crooked Island Sound before and during the oil spill. During the oil disaster, we wondered how many more trips we would be able to make before they closed the sound. We endured oil booms, oil workers and oil boats. We pondered about the plight of the sea turtles and the babies soon to hatch. We worried about the dolphins and the affect the oil would have on them. And in the end, we were thankful the oil really never impacted our area. For now, anyway.

We spent time at Lake Powell, on the Chipola River and even more time at Holmes Creek. We love the salt life but discovered, due to the pending oil spill, the wonderful river and creek life that our area offers. We met so many nice people on the rivers and creeks. We encountered our first rapid on the upper Chipola River and had a blast maneuvering over it. We even survived crossing the pass on Memorial Day weekend! We consider ourselves extremist in our kayaks. We are still relatively new to kayaking and nothing seems to scare us. We will try anything once!

The summer was nice, but not as nice as last year. The winds were weird and the rough seas never subsided. There were a few days that we spent the entire day in the Gulf, but those were few and far between. One such day, we had the exciting opportunity to chase tarpon off Crooked Island. We have seen manatees, tuna, dolphins, schools of stingrays, sea turtles, big and small. We have seen saltwater fish in the freshwater rivers and so many more amazing creatures most of us take for granted.

The oil spill was disastrous for so many and although we worried about its impact on our area, it brought us a new awareness of just how fragile our beaches and waterways are. We came to realize just how truly blessed we are to live here and have the bays, the Gulf, the rivers and creeks. Life in a kayak here is anything but boring.

We enjoyed trips with friends, some planned, some spur of the moment. There were new experiences for them as well and we were eager to share our experiences with them too. We began this blog to let people know about our area and to share our experiences with anyone who might be interested.

So, as fall began, we cleaned and waxed our kayaks and put them up until the spring. We may venture out between now and next spring or between hunting seasons, who knows. Our fall and winters are usually spent tromping through the woods and deer and turkey hunting. But any warm weekend, you might just find us out in the bay or at the sound as fall is the most beautiful time in our area.

We had a long and eventful kayak season and enjoyed sharing our adventures with everyone. We did a lot and saw a lot. I don't think we have ever kayaked so much as we did this spring and summer but we survived it all. Survived to tell another tale. We are looking forward now to the spring and another great season!