Who you chose to travel with can make all the difference in the world

Below I want to feature some of the best shots I got of each paddler. I liked every single person. It was easy as we all paddle with the same club (using meetup as our scheduling base, the Washington Kayak Club) of kayak-junkies in the WDC area. Some of us are the "usual suspects" as Brian calls us, and one or two of us are newer paddlers who are both intrepid and strong.

Bill started saying we are the "swingers' kayak club" which has a ring to it. Maybe I should swipe that idea? (insert mad giggling) It would certainly stir things up! This came out of a discussion about "river husbands" and also the fact that we have little shame when dressing, etc. When one is taking wet suits off in a parking lot in front of the same people over and over, one does tend to lose whatever modesty and/or body shame one had to start with. And let's face it, wet suits leave very little to the imagination in the first place.

First our guides:

Bill serving up dinner

Mary, actually I had a hard time catching either one of these hard working folks being still, so I don't have many good shots of either of them

Mary and Bill -- Looking over a chart

Mary and Pete

Starting with Pete, who got this trip together:

Pete brought his Epic, of course. (tease) Always calm and rather good at communication, Pete is a fine trip leader.

Becky, well known and beloved by many of us! Who can say one bad thing about Becky? Really?? Always the cheer leader, Becky's wonderful to be around. Along with Sid, she was paddling one of the Burnham's work horse boats and there fore was carrying the lion's share of the community kit. Way to go, Becky!

Lisa, hyper-competitive, always out front, was paddling a 10 year old CD Solstice GT owned by the Burnhams. Lisa is kind and generous, and always game for a challenge. James was quite smitten by the boat she was paddling,  btw!

This is frankly, one of my favorite shots from the trip

Sid is rather new to paddling. He was paddling the Burnhams' Viking kayak. The same boat the Burnhams' guide Joel described as having "a rotten bottom." It did rather start to de-laminate on this trip. None-the-less Sid pushed the heavily loaded draft horse to competitive speed, once even catching up with Pete and Lisa out front. Way to go, Sid!! Really! I rather was impressed by him, and he was the "best aged" of our group, beating out every other contender by about 10 years.

Following Sid through mangroves

Jaclin is also rather new to paddling. She became serious about it last year (2013) and has taken lessons as well as buying several boats while in the process of finding the "right one" for herself. She was paddling the Burnhams' Impex Force Cat 3. She was rather smitten with the boat and said she was going to re-think her plan to build a CLC (wood boat). She is a strong paddler who is pushing herself into new territory. She was lovely to paddle with, and we had many conversations about gear.

Becky and Jaci

Here's James (the Lorax) monkeying around on his boat. Brian Stevens challenged us to sit on our back decks while paddling last year during a class. Since then we have both taken to regularly paddling this way. While it looks goofy, one will learn quite a lot about balance while trying to maintain a seat this way.

Lastly, myself, the opinionated paddle bum, organizer, gear head. Quite the "Chatty Cathy" I was teased about my chatter several times during the trip. Often though, I find myself paddling quietly for hours. On the water is where I do most of my deep thinking.

Becky's shot of James and I cruising back to Bokeelia and the take-out.

And below, our boats. By no means bit players in this tale, each boat had its own "personality" and story.

You've probably figured out I am quite smitten with my Solstice. She really is a fine expedition boat. With 80 pounds of gear loaded in her she handled with amazingly good manners. Bringing this boat was a fantastically smart decision on my part.