Hebrews 13:1

 ¹Keep on loving each other as brothers. ²Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. 

TEXAS TRAILER TRASH MARGARITAS

1Can frozen limeade
1 cup Sprite
3/4 cup tequila
1 Corona beer

Mix and freeze!  

Well I took the time and put together a web site dedicated to the hugely successful FULL MOON PADDLES.

Check it out at:

http://fullmoonkayak.blogspot.com/

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/parenting/the-great-baby-einstein-scam-531147/

Ok all you t.v watching boobs, science is now proclaiming exposure to t.v at a young age has negative effects on a childs attention span later in life.

Go outside and play with your children. I suggest setting your t.v up in the back yard and teaching your kid how to accurately fire a 30-06 into the screen.

Had a bit of a fall teaser last week with a few days of cooler weather. Me and the boys decided it was time to throw a good bye summertime feast to seal the deal on the end of killer hot days. So tonight we are cooking conch fritters, maduros, Cayman style whole fried snapper, grilled shrimp, key lime pie, and margaritas. 

Good bye summer!

What started out as a very chilly weekend turned out to be a fantastic and perfect week on the Suwannee River. Our first morning found frost on all the gear left out in the elements. By the end of the week everyone was enjoying 78 degree days and cool evenings. The moon was only a sliver so the star gazing was impressive.

Our group of 17 put in at the bridge at Fargo, Georgia (water level was to low to put in at the Okefenokee) and took out at the Suwannee Canoe Outpost.

This week will be spent cleaning and repacking gear for the Sea Kayaking Tour of the Cedar Keys the first week of November.

Sam and Gator getting ready to go paddling and looking for alligators.
Grahm the man of the Suwannee, Marley the dog, and the beloved Rosie, North Florida historian and renaissance river runner.

Great photo from my friends Duncan and Gisela Haynes taken on our trip together on Lewis and Clark's Upper Missouri River in Montana. Check out the mushroom shaped rocks, love it.

Finished cooking for next weeks Suwannee River trip and the following weeks trip to Cedar Key. Let me tell you ahead of time the food is gonna be goooood! Nothin mo finer!

It also seems the weather is going to be beyond perfect on the river. 75-80 during the day and 55-60 at night. Perfect paddling and swimming weather in the day and perfect campfire, smores, and snuggling at night. If you chose to work next week instead of paddling, mistake, big mistake.

Today was the perfect Florida weather day. Hot and sunny till the afternoon, then an hour long down pour (which me and Gator played in), then warm the rest of the afternoon. I couldn't fight it, I had to light a fire and grill some meat. I love cooking outside with nothing on but a pair of shorts, cold beer in hand, animal flesh sizzling on oak coals. I'm looking forward to next week on the Suwannee with my family and 15 clients (friends). I'll be cooking with my bare feet in the swamp.

Took off early this morning to pick up Marty and head out to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and Canaveral National Seashore to get in a serious salt water paddle in. It was amazing, we had countless playful dolphin at every turn. It got super hot and sunny then one tiny cloud shaded us and then cooled us even further with some rain. A few miles from returning to our van we paddled over a herd (12-14) giant resting manatee that exploded as we glided over them. After regaining our wits we glided over a small pod of Manatee (4-6) that also exploded underneath us.

Found a small fish house named Goodrich Seafood Restaurant on the water and ordered a mess of fried mullet, shrimp, and spicy cheese grits. 

A perfect day.

Wow! Deleted the last post due to folks getting hostile. Relax everyone, its okay to disagree, just be civil about it. 

Having two back to back Full Moon Paddles has seriously thrown off my sleep routine. Trying to adjust to Eastern Time zone after a month out west isn't helping any. Looking forward to the next week off and then the giant Okefenokee and Suwannee River trip the week following. Some river time will do me right.

Brother Craig taking a break at 1 am. getting ready to load 31 kayaks before calling it a night.
Jesse and his little pride and joy. 

After being away from Florida for a month I had a lot of work to catch up with, however, I needed a beach fix. So I loaded up the boys, swung by Craig's house to pick him and Connor up.

We had a lunch of shrimp, clams, and grouper at JB's Fish Camp.
The waves were about 4' and clean with sets of 3-4. Both boys had a great time body boarding and getting pounded by the waves.

Chief Gator of the Lost Florida Mud Tribe







Up and moving, taking the boys out for the day to give Melissa time alone at the house. I have not figured out what we are going to do yet, but I'm almost certain it will involve water. Suggestions are welcome.

TAKING THE PLUNGE

I just signed a contract with a San Francisco destination management company to help me book day tours. They seem pretty optimistic about sending me "an amazing amount of business". With the economy the way it is I'm crossing my fingers for an amazing paycheck. I would rather earn a million dollars working my butt off guiding paddling trips than be given a winning lottery ticket worth a million. My father once told me "the wishbone will never replace the backbone".

We live in a large country. If you think differently get in your car and drive it from side to side or corner to corner. I recommend bringing lots of cash for gasoline. This trip out I wanted to see just how long I could drive before getting real tired. I made it from Fort Benton, Montana to Nashville, Tennessee in less than 29 hours. I tried the same stunt years ago and made the mistake of taking a few "uppers" when I was beat tired. I got so wired that I had to down a quart of beer to calm down. (I know now) Needles to say I was wide awake, buzzed, crying to Willie Nelson songs, driving with my head out the window so I could dry my eyes out and occasionally scream. I try to drive "strait" these days.

Now that I'm home I've began the process of sorting out a huge pile of mail, answering several hundred emails, returning dozens of phone calls, and try to make the wife happy after being gone for a month (i know). I'm also trying real hard to create more business. I can't speak for the whole country but most folks I talked to between Montana and here are hurting or know of people really hurting.
I'm blessed.