The Ocean, The End

Day 11- 20.9 miles

January 15, 2023

We had planned on waking up early this morning, but instead snoozed the alarm and slowly moved around camp, eating breakfast and taking our time. We listed to music most of the morning, smoking a lil, feeling in tune with the river. We spotted a manatee lounging around eating grass and a mischievous raccoon on the bank.

We'd been paddling for a few hours when a boat motored towards us, getting closer and closer. Soon we realized it was Poet! We hadn't been expecting to see him until after we finished and giggled as he pulled up. We chatted for awhile before he went back to the Airbnb, grabbed the rest of the fam and came back to see us. We tied up to their boat, ate some snacks, drank the coffee and tea they brought us, and then headed back out to finish the last 10 or so miles.

The last few miles were harder than any we'd done before. How fitting for the end of our trip. This close to the ocean meant the tides had an impact on the river and we had a head wind. We pushed through, blasting Elvis songs and trying to eat snacks without pausing too long or we'd lose our progress. Then we finally saw it- THE OCEAN!!! We paddled past the last little island into the Gulf of Mexico. The wind whipped, the sun shone, the waves splashed.

We did it!

We celebrated and then turned back, we had to paddle 4 miles back up river to get to the town of Suwannee where Hippie Chick and Poet and the kids had rented the Airbnb. Somehow the wind had changed direction and was still a headwind and now we were going upriver, so to say we were exhausted was an understatement.

We couldn't stop paddling even for a minute or the wind would blow us into the sea grass and off our course. I tried to stop once and Henry told me I had to keep paddling, I had the urge to smack him over the head with my paddle :-)

Then I glanced at my phone and had a text from Hippie Chick offering to come tow us the rest of the way up river. I replied yes. Please. SOS. Help. LOL

So grateful for them for making this trip seamless, it would have been much harder without them. Back at the Airbnb we felt a little zombie like, finally wandering down to the corner store for a frozen pizza and onion rings and taking a burning hot shower. We did it.

Now we're in a comfy bed with clean sheets and I'm ready to sleep for eternity.