Departing Southport

Nick's kayak is fixed!  The people here in Southport have been amazing.  Yesterday Emma, from the Adventure Company (http://www.theadventurecompany.net/), hooked us up with Jason.  Jason turned out to be an incredibly crafty guy - he got the boat fixed and reinforced the area with extra plastic.  You can't even tell it had broken and the area is probably more stable than out of the factory!  Southport has been such a great little town.  We couldn't have picked a better place to wait out the bad weather or get the boat fixed.  Everyone here has been so helpful and nice. 

 

After getting the boat situation taken care of we had some extra time to explore Southport in the rain.  We visited Emma's shop.  It had a lot of stuff we needed.  It is crazy how few actual kayak shops we have run across.  Many town's have a "kayak shop" that rents a few boats, sells overpriced clothing, and is staffed by people that have never been in a boat.  We were able to replace some of our wore through gear and talk with Emma about paddling in North Carolina - it was the perfect thing to do on a rainy day. 

 

With yesterdays down time I  found my self reflecting a lot on our trip.  We are about half way through!  The time has really flown by, but at the same time I amazed at how far we have come.  This type of physical and mental challenge really stimulates personal growth.  It tests your limits.  You are constantly stretching out of your comfort zone.  

 

One of the hardest things that we have faced has been finding places to camp.  Neither Nick or I realized how uncomfortable we would be with the idea of camping without permission.  So we have gone to greater lengths to try to find legitimate places to sleep.  This has definitely come with its own set of challenges.  Explaining over the phone to someone that you are arriving to there marina/campground/hotel via kayak tends to result in confusion.  Not to mention perplexed reactions to our questions.  Normally when I call a place I start with "Hi, I'm coming up the Intracoastal Water Way".  Nick has found that it's better to mention later in the conversation that you are arriving in a kayak.  The next part of the conversation usually goes something like this:  "Do you allow kayaks to dock at your marina?  Do we have to pay to store our boats by the foot or do you have a dingy storage fee?  Can I sleep on the marina docks or in the parking lot - I have a tent??".  Most people in campgrounds or hotels are incapable of giving boating directions to their facilities, even if they are on the water.  This makes sense I guess - if they have never done it they wouldn't know what to look for.  Another vital question when communicating with a campground is finding out if they allow tents.  It is so weird, but we have come across many self labeled "campgrounds" that do not allow you to sleep in a tent - RV only!  The majority of the people we have called have been pretty nice, but in Myrtle Beach I had two people in a row hang up on me. So far in NC most places will let you through up a tent, but several still charge you the same as if you had an RV.  For all the head ache arriving in a kayak can be, I don't think we would have met so many interesting people if we arrived via traditional transportation.  Our kayaks certainly do spark a good conversation!

 

Another dilemma that Nick and I have had is that our wardrobes are uncomfortably similar.  When we first left St. Augustine we noticed that we had packed a few of the same pieces of clothing.  There are just some brands that make really good paddling gear, so I figured that it was somewhat normal for us to have similar things.  At this point, it has gotten a lot worse.  We have been given a few free t-shirts along the way - so now we actually have some identical outfits.  Two days in a row I have gotten dressed only to realize that Nick was wearing the same thing : (  Granted we have spent the last three weeks joined at the hip - but I just can't be that couple that wears matching outfits.  I guess I need to wear more skirts and halter tops... 

 

Our visit to Southport has been a great place to mark the halfway point of our trip.  Today we are headed back on the water.  After two days of rain the skies dramatically cleared last night with a gorgeous arching double rainbow.  We are all sunny skies today and ready to paddle!