5.30.08

I haven’t had cell phone service for a few days so I haven’t been able to call in an update, here is what’s been going on; Tuesday was a pretty straight shot out of Swansborough up to Moorhead, good practice for upcoming sections because the water was pretty wide, had m skirt on the whole day, in the morning a dolphin was hanging out with me for about half an hour, come right up to the boat, flip over and show me his belly then swim along with me. He seemed to really enjoy playing along with me. Paddled straight through the day with no breaks right to Moorhead city in-between there and Beaufort up into a creek, finally the waterway became a little smaller and I could take off my skirt and relax, then I paddled up to Sea Gate Marina met a great couple Mary Beth and Frank on vacation from Maine I hung out with them and they fed me. We enjoyed each others company, I was really happy they were there; they really took care of me.
Wednesday I thought would be a pretty easy day paddling up to Oriental. Boy was I mistaken. It took me all day to get 10 miles to Adams Creek because of the 20 mile an hour winds right in my face. I then had to cross the Neuse River where I was trying to meet this guy whose boat I was staying on. The waves were huge because of the wind because of the thunderstorms. I was supposed to meet Bob Lucy who is the editor of Carolina Coasts magazine. Although I could finally see oriental across the river, there was no way I could make it across. The Neuse River it the widest in the US so I didn’t think I should give it a try. Fortunately, there was a guy sitting in his truck watching the storm, he saw me paddling so he came out of his truck and asked what I was doing. His name was Ashley, he was really nice. He brought me to some land and called the property owners and got approval for me to camp on the land. It is never fun setting up a tent in the rain but once I did and was inside, dried off and made some dinner, it wasn’t that bad.
Yesterday I was finally able to cross the river, there were strong winds and a pretty good chop, it was about 3 or 4 miles, it was hard, exhilarating and a lot of fun, I felt like I was paddling all day, it was tiring but I made it. I spent the rest of the day in Oriental, had some lunch and ate about 4000 calories in one meal which was great. I enjoyed hanging out at the docks, going to a paddle shop, got a new pad for my seat, hopefully it will help. I met with Rob and Joe in the afternoon and I really enjoyed spending the night on their boat, I appreciate their kindness.
On Tuesday, as I was paddling up to Moorhead, I pulled a total bonehead move; my spare paddle saved the day. I realized that something was not right; I looked around and noticed that my paddle was 10 yards behind me, I to quickly put my spare paddle together and paddle back. I would have literally been “up the creek” if I didn’t have my spare paddle handy.