Mother's Day 2010

Lisa decided to spend Mother's Day kayaking with friends and family. We kayaked for several hours on Julington Creek in Jacksonville. The put-in park is new and only 5 minutes from our house, making it a perfect choice for a peaceful afternoon on the water.

Photos 1,2,3,4,5 & 7 by P.D.

Adventure 16 (aka: Big Red Boat)

With Kellisa growing so fast, we recently outgrew our 2 person kayak. We thought our kayaking days were over...then we saw the Adventure 16 canoe/kayak hybrid at Gander Mountain. This evening was our first outing with our new boat. We spent about an hour on a lake less than a mile from our house. It's a little rocky compared to a kayak, but we think it will work once we get the "feel" for it. What's the worse that can happen?

At 16ft. and 85 pounds...it's quite a challenge:

Everglades National Park (12.06)

Matt and Seth drove to Jacksonville as part of their Christmas breaks from school. After some visiting with Lisa and Kellisa, we drove down to the Everglades. We spent a few days camping, hiking and kayaking.

One story that stands out from this trip: we stayed in a hotel the last evening so we could clean up a little and have a nice dinner at a restaurant. Our room was on the third floor. Matt was the last one to take a shower. In the middle of his shower, the hotel's fire alarm started piercing our ears. Seth and I looked in the hall and saw people starting to head for the exits. Matt was yelling from the shower, "what's going on"? We acted like we were in a panic and started yelling back to Matt that we smelled smoke. Matt took us very seriously and ended his shower. He was relieved that he didn't smell smoke, but not at all happy that we made him think we smelled smoke. Playing it safe, we headed to the lobby and found out it was just a false alarm.

Back in the Everglades, we kayaked among the resident alligators:

Matt talked to a park ranger at the Shark Valley station to inquire about the endangered Snail Kite. The ranger recommended an area to kayak where we would have the greatest chance of viewing one of these rare birds:

Snail Kite:

We have a second story that will live on from this trip. For my job, several times a year I drive across Florida's panhandle. We also made the drive several times going to and from The Woodlands, TX. Besides Tallahassee and Pensacola, there is absolutely nothing except rolling hills and pine forests. I had never seen a trooper in all my drives through the panhandle. I happened to mention this fact to Matt and Seth so they could make good time on their drive home. I received a phone call from Aunt Jo letting us know that Matt and Seth arrived home. She also mentioned that she understood that I said, "don't worry, you can speed because troopers don't patrol the panhandle". I knew right away that there was a ticket written and I was partially to blame. I won't say who or how fast...

Kellisa's 1st Kayak Adventure

Lake Oneida

UNF Campus- Jax, FL

March 2007

Grandma was visiting from Chicago and Lisa wanted to visit the outlet malls in St. Augustine. I asked Kellisa if she wanted to go shopping with mom and grandma or go out and have fun with dad. If she picked shopping, we wouldn't have a blog entry. To this point in time, Lisa did not allow me to take Kellisa kayaking...something to do with the 1,000,000+ alligators that call Florida home. Oh yeah, and they view kids as meals. Lisa asked what I had planned before leaving and I claimed I did not know yet.

As soon as they were out the door and around the corner, I loaded the kayak on the roof and packed the Pilot with all the gear we would need for an afternoon of fun. We had to make a quick stop to buy Kellisa a PFD. I knew I was risking serious trouble, but I had kayaked 32 miles across the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia and had several kayak trips to the Everglades on my resume. I was 100% confident in my ability to take Kellisa kayaking and return her home without serious incident.

I selected Lake Oneida on the campus of UNF because I was familiar with the area due to hiking the trails surrounding the lake on several occasions. It was a small lake, so we would always be close to land. Plus, it was a popular campus with students always within shouting distance. The hardest part of the trip was getting a 65# kayak, all the gear and Kellisa in her travel wheelchair to the edge of the lake to start the adventure. As predicted, Kellisa absolutely loved kayaking!

I was more worried about Kellisa losing her glasses than alligators. The water was clear and I scanned the area before allowing Kellisa to splash some water. What you don't see is the paddle in one hand while the other snaps this picture.

We arrived home before mom and grandma. We even had time to unload and hide all the evidence. However, I wanted to share what we did that day hoping it would lead to more kayaking trips. When Lisa arrived home she asked what we had done. I answered with a slideshow and Lisa admitted that she knew I was going to take Kellisa kayaking. Being the ever supportive wife/mother...she did not stop or discourage me. When we got to the splashing picture she did say with some entusiam "YOU LET HER PLAY IN THE WATER"!!!