Florida: From Mangroves to Gulfport

Day 171
NM Today: 28
NM Total: 3496

What a day today has been! We got up early to do a kayak ride before departing Calidesi Island State Park. Our good intentions were not rewarded by the tide however. As we prepared to leave, the park ranger told us that we would not have enough water on the kayak trail until 10:30 as some places are quite shallow. Dawdling around we managed to drag out the time until 10:00 when we decided that we would give it a shot and see how far we could go.

I suffered the normal anxiety and stress over getting into my kayak. I managed it albeit none too gracefully. One of these days I hope to master that kayak! I did not know what I was in for as we headed for the kayak trail. What we found was pretty awesome!

Evelyn paddling through the mangroves

We headed into a narrow channel, sometimes not wide enough to allow free movement of the kayak paddle, with foot-tall and longer roots on either side of us. A few times my kayak paddle whacked a low hanging root over the water. The root refused to budge an inch, so the paddle and my arm vibrated instead.

Using the roots to hold still for a photo

 We stopped along the way for some photo shoots. Fortunately the trees blocked the sun, so we had a cool ride through the shade.

side-by-side in the mangroves

Clark managed to capture a video of an interesting long-billed bird we found busy fishing in the mangroves.

Mangrove Selfie

The kayak trail consisted of two parts - the mangrove / roots portion and then open water back to the docks.  As we traveled through the tree roots, I watched the water depth carefully so as not to run aground. I had no desire to step out of the kayak into unfamiliar waters. After weaving our way through the roots, we exited the mangroves and came out into strong winds.

When we came out into the open, I expected to find deeper water and was severely disappointed. Fortunately kayaks require little water as the depth was probably only three inches in some places. I found myself paddling for all I was worth against the wind with no forward movement whatsoever. I looked at the tree nearest to me and watched as I paddled - indeed I was not moving forward and was lucky I was holding my own and not going backwards. I felt like one of those whirligigs where the limbs go round and round in place.

I decided that since I could not get enough water under the paddle to get movement I would have to use my paddle to "pole" the boat forward. As I dug the paddle into the sandy bottom, I finally could see and feel progress. Meanwhile, of course, Clark was way ahead of me and getting further and further away every minute. Finally I found water that must have been a whole 5 inches deep, and I was able to make progress using the kayaks in the more traditional manner.

As we worked our way out towards deeper water, I looked around to see numerous birds wading in the waters. I was reminded of a boater friend I knew many years ago who talked about "water so shallow you can see the birds ankles". Clearly today's waters lived up to that description.

Wading birds

 I stuck my paddle in when the water finally appeared to be getting "really deep". The depth of the water precisely matched the width of my kayak blade - maybe 7" deep. Wow! As I looked down into the water constantly wondering if I was going to run aground, all I could see was vegetation.

Weedy bottom in shallow water

While I was working my way through the weeds and admiring birds, Clark was still up ahead of me. when we got far enough out into deeper water to turn north, I found that I became a human sail with the change in direction. The wind was now mostly at my back. I had forward movement from wind alone, so I decided to take advantage and stop paddling. All I did was stick my paddle in the water and used it as a rudder to control direction. Weeee!

As I caught up to Clark, I saw that he was intently studying something in the water. I wondered what he found that had him so enthralled. When I asked, he said he was admiring the "decorative" sponges growing in the water.

Sponges growing at the park

When we continued on, we came across some pretty rough terrain on the edges of the channel. I asked Clark if it was hardened lava rock. When I got closer, I could see it was thousands of shells built up over time.

Hard and Sharp - shells upon shells!

The predicted time to complete the kayak trail is about one hour. We came close to that though I did not check my watch for the precise time involved. I was more concerned with how the heck I was going to get out of my kayak. For anyone watching it may be humorous as I fight my way out of the kayak.

I watched Clark scramble out of the kayak like a little kid. He makes it look so easy. I saw that he used a metal post for leverage to help pull himself out, so I thought I would try that approach, but when I rounded the corner, I saw that his kayak was still occupying that spot. I got him to move his kayak to make way for me. Although the metal post was useful for getting out, it did not help me get my weight over my feet first. While I struggled to shift my weight, Clark pointed out to me that my weight was not yet over my feet. Well, duh! So helpful! Ultimately I got my body in position and exited the kayak. Yay!!

Later, while we were preparing the big boat for departure, I watched a couple in a two-seat kayak come up to the kayak dock to dismount. The wife climbed out first. She stepped out of the kayak and got her right leg on the dock; but then she pushed the kayak away from the dock with her left leg as she attempted to step fully onto the dock. From there she did a slow-motion split and full dip in the water. I found it interesting that she, as I do when the kayak inevitably moves in an unwanted direction, immediately blamed her husband for moving it on her.

We left the island at noon and headed to our next port - Gulfport, Florida. Before we pulled out of our slip Clark asked the ferry captain advise on finding deep water to get us into the Gulf ICW. He said, "Look for Mickey Mouse. I know it sounds weird, but you'll know what I mean when you see it. Just look for Mickey." What an interesting navigation aid!?

Turn right at Mickey Mouse! Do you see him?

I was in the boat cabin as we approached the spot where we should see "Mickey Mouse". I peaked out the front window a few times looking for him. Unfortunately I saw several versions of Mickey Mouse - granted some were pretty scrawny renditions. I wondered how Clark was doing up top, and just then he called me on the boat intercom and said he needed my help navigating. When I got up top, he handed me the binoculars and said, "Do you see Mickey Mouse? They all look like Mickey Mouse to me."

I did see Mickey, but better yet, I saw the red marker "14" near him so I knew he was the real Mickey! From this point onward we followed the Gulf Intra-Coastal Waterway (GICW) into Gulfport.

"City of Treasure Island" Bridge (zoom in to see the pirate)

As we passed through Reddington Beach, we looked for the area where we visited Clark's cousin, Dawn, for Christmas. As we went by her street, I waved even though she did not see me.

It took longer to get to Gulfport than we hoped as we had several bouts of slow speed zones. We arrived just around 4:00, so we did not have much time for sightseeing. We planned on walking but then realized how much territory we had to cover and grabbed our bikes.

"Welcome to Gulfport"

"Beach Boulevard"

Fancy mural on stage

Ice Cream Stop - Working Cow Ice Cream

In tea store where we bought ice cream

We had our ice cream (and I had a cookie too) and headed towards shore before going back to the boat.

Obligatory Sunset Picture 1

Obligatory Sunset Picture 2

What an amazing day! I was disappointed when it became dark, and we had to call an end to our bike ride. I enjoyed the kayak ride in the morning and the bike ride in the evening - so different from each other. I did not want the day to end.