Last Day at Pine Jog

I taught my last Pine Jog class today with 1st graders and got in one final work lunch at Pete's Place with some of the old crew from the EYCC. I'm going to miss this place and the people I've met along the way.

Apartment in Houston

We found an apartment in Houston last weekend! It is close to Emily's job and will be a great temporary place to live for the first 6 months while we get a feel for the lay of the land.

(Yes, Emily is wearing a sombraro and feeling festive)

Kayak Camping in Key Biscayne

Jonathan went overseas to spend Thanksgiving with his mother and brother in England. Emily took advantage of a 4 day weekend and went kayak camping. She invited all the grads from Pine Jog who were staying in WPB for the holiday. Corey was the only brave soul who took her up on the offer.

The challenge with kayak camping is space. If it doesn't fit in the kayak you can't take it with you. We tried a new concept in ultralight backpacking called freezer bag cooking to prepare our meals. Everything is dry or dehydrated and you just have to add boiling water and wait for it to rehydrate. I was very impressed with all receipies I tried. Check it out at: http://www.freezerbagcooking.com/

Corey borrowed Jonathan's gear for the trip. We launched on Friday afternoon from the Dante Fascall Visitor Center and paddled the 7 miles across open water in Key Biscayne National Park to Elliot Key.

It was the first time Corey or I had ever gone on a paddling trip where we couldn't physically see our destination. It was a little scary, but in a good way. We used the map and our orientering skills with the compass. The sun shining through the clouds on the glassy water was amazing!

As we approached Elliot Key, we realized that we were not the only ones who thought it was a good idea to go camping that weekend. We were however, the only ones who arrived via kayak.

After a restless night in the tents filled with mosquito bites and lots of noise from our neighbors it felt good to get back out on the water. We did a day trip north to Boca Chita Key.

During the paddle we came across a green dragonfly frantically looking for a place to land and take a rest. He rode on the back of my jacket for atleast 20 minutes before deciding to try flying again. I'm not sure where he was headed out on the open water, but I wished him a good trip just the same!

Once we arrived on Boca Chita Key, we hiked around to several of the historic buildings made out of limestone and old coral.

We found a palm tree with ripe coconuts. Corey and I each cracked one open and had fresh coconut milk and meat with our lunch....yum!

We paddled the 7 mile round trip back to Elliot Key. We were pleased to find that most of the people had left the campground. The wind had also picked up, which reduced the bugs and temperature to a very pleasent level. We settled in to camp just in time to catch this sunset.

After logging 14 miles in the kayaks we were ready to enjoy a beer. We had room for one big liter bottle of Corona to share over a game of Hearts. Boy did it taste good!

We played Hearts both nights. Corey won the best of five - best of five tournament for the weekend. Check out those nice plastic, waterproof playing cards.

We broke camp on Sunday morning and launched right from our campsite.

We paddled the 7 miles back with wind and 1-2 foot seas. It was hard work, but a nice challenge to end the trip. Corey even had a Loggerhead sea turtle surface for a breath right next to his kayak....very cool!

We returned in record time - 2 hrs and 30 minutes. That was a half an hour quicker than it took us to paddle 7 miles on Friday and Saturday. It probably had something to do with the wind being at our backs. Our fingers were pruned, our bodies were tired, and our souls were satisfied. God's creation is a wonder to behold!