January 23rd-February 10th
We said our good byes to the god-parents and left Venice, FL to continue our way North. Haley and Mike stopped to look at a RV in Sarasota. After an inspection and test drive they decided to upgrade from their 1978 Dodge to a 2005 RV. Shadow and I met up with an old co-worker of mine, Bruce, for a few Mojitos at my favorite florida restaurant, Columbia. The early dinner was short lived when I received a e-mail from work. My schedule had changed and I was leaving the next day for my first full rotation. 15 days on the road was going to be interesting for the both of us. After spending 6 1/2 months together on the Appalachian Trail, neither of us were sure how being apart would be. The next 2 weeks I zipped around the country picking up and dropping off high end clients. Shadow set up in Tarpon Springs, FL for the first week. Haley and Mike stopped by with their new RV for a trip to see the manatees in Crystal River. As the dust settled from the last 2 weeks, Shadow started to think about what he wanted from his new life on the road. It was time to concentrate on what made him happy and what would fulfill his life. Facebook has allowed us to keep in touch with other hikers we met last year and the theme seems to be common. They all miss the spirit of the trail and so did we. Would hiking the Pacific Crest Trail make us happy or would that simply be a short term fix. Did we want to escape back into the woods and if so would the void still be there after the PCT thru-hike? It’s hard to explain what what that missing piece is, but maybe that will drive us on this journey.
During my second week on rotation, Shadow took the RV to Amelia Island, FL to visit a couple he used to work with, Bridget and Mike Rogers. He had a great time fishing and catching up. By the time I arrived, he had scouted out places for us to go and things of us to do. We decided to re-visit Cumberland Island, GA, a place Shadow had helped my father with restoring the Dungeness ruins from the Carnegie family’s estate. After reviewing a map, we drove to the tip of Amelia Island, inflated our new kayak, threw in a lunch box, and began paddling what turned out to be 4 miles against the ocean current. About a half mile from the pull out, we second guessed our decision. It had dawned on us that we were in an inflatable kayak with no repair kit, and no air pump.
The ruins on Cumberland were exactly as we remembered them. Wild horses grazed around the old structures and the large lawn. We walked to the beach while discussing what it would have been like to own a place like this. A relaxing lunch on the beach gave us the energy to paddle the 4 miles back. By the time we headed home the current had changed and made our trip home easy until we crossed the inlet. The waves picked up and it took all we had to fight the water. If one of us stopped to take a break, our kayak would start moving backwards. Safely back to shore we loaded the red toad and headed home.
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