By the time Delores, Janet and Theresa had unloaded and unpacked, Marie and Yvonne had pitched their tent in the free camping zone.  Instructions from the paddle guides said to meet at 1:00 at Good Times Motel & Marina. 

Seemed everyone got that memo.  Finding a parking spot meant channeling some creative parking inspiration.

15 paddlers, including Delores, Marie, Theresa and Yvonne, climbed into this groovy little ol' transformed school bus which served as a shuttle bus, while they watched as their kayaks got loaded onto a couple of transport vehicles.  This way everyone (and their yaks) arrived at the designated launch site (Steinhatchee Falls) without getting lost and arriving late, or not at all.  Great idea, event organizers!!!

Steinhatchee Falls

Kayaks got unloaded and everyone is getting organized

And they're off.....

 Time to enjoy a leisurely 6.7 mile paddle downstream on the tea colored waters of the Steinhatchee River.  The upper half of the river is a shady, moss-draped tunnel that widens as it approaches the Gulf.

Beautiful scenery at every turn.

Marie, Theresa and Yvonne - dead ahead
Great opportunity to meet other paddlers and make new friends.  Paddling along striking up conversations with complete strangers only to find out how much you have in common.  It's a true testament to the phrase "It's a small world".

Wouldn't mind waking up every morning and having such a beautiful view from the window.  #jealous

The 6.7 mile paddle ended between 5:00 - 5:30 p.m. as everyone slowly but surely arrived at the take out destination, the ramp at Spurgeon Cheek House, a newly developed property owned by Dixie County that will be available to the public for rental.

All went well until Theresa tipped over in her kayak trying to get it out of the water once she was at the end point.  In doing that, her automatic life vest inflated upon impact with the water.  The next 30 minutes were spent trying to figure out how to DE-flate the darn thing!!


A quick drive back to the condo to freshen-up a bit before heading over to Good Times Motel & Marina for the scheduled "Meet & Greet" with free hor dourves and free drinks from 6-7.

Problem was, by the time the girls got back to the condo, showered and drove to Good Times Marina were the party was going on, it was 6:30, all of the food was gone!  That was pretty disappointing but a few red solo cups of free Coors Light seemed to ease the pain somewhat. 

Tummies were growling, however, and that couldn't be ignored much longer so a mad-dash to Roys Restaurant to take advantage of the "free appetizer" coupon that was in everyone's goody-bag was in order.

From there, it was back to the condo for a good nights sleep.  Lord knows everybody needed one.  Friday would be just as busy if not more so.

The morning had become a blur.  So much to do in such a short amount of time:  The six mile paddle back from Butler Island, the 45 minute drive from Shired Island to Steinhatchee, the pit-stop at the Community Center to pick up the registration folders, then to the condo unit to unload luggage and gear and a quick shower before the first guided paddle of the day at 2:00 p.m.

http://www.thesunsetplace.com/

By the time Delores arrived, Janet and Theresa had already checked-in, unpacked and were enjoying a beverage in the livingroom.  Clearly, they weren't the primitive camping type!

Main Entrance to the condo.

Janet's Room

Kitchen stocked with everything but food

Spiral staircase leading up to the second level.

Delores's upstairs bedroom

more of the upstairs bedroom

View from upstairs

Livingroom area

View from the balcony

So now that the girls were settled into their accommodations for the duration of the Paddle Festival festivities, it was time to get the party started!  Off to the Good Times Motel & Marina to meet up with the shuttle that was going to transport everyone to their first paddle event of the day:  Steinhatchee Falls.

The doors to the Steinhatchee Community Center opened at 12:00 noon to kick off the official start of the event.  That's when and where all of those who registered earlier in the year needed to go to pick up their registration packet which included their individual itineraries of each paddle they signed up for over the course of the weekend.  They had until 4:00 p.m. to do so.  There was no time to waste, either, because many of the attendees had a 2:00 paddle they had registered for and so registration and check-in to the hotel all had to be done within a two hour window.

The sign-in process went smoothly and everyone received a personalized folder that included an itinerary for each guided paddle they had signed up for and when & where it took place, a few marketing trinkets (whistle, sunglass bands, tokens for free drinks, etc) and lots of local marketing paperwork.

Good Times Motel & Marina was the official host facility for the Hidden Coast Paddle Festival.  This was the hub where everyone met before disbursing again.

Once the formalities were over, it was off to check into the condo before the 2:00 paddle down Steinhatchee River.

By the time everyone made it to the Butler Island it was about 11:30 a.m. and the tide was going out.  Many of the area oyster bars were just beginning to expose themselves.

Yep - This is the right place....

Kayaks had to be trudged through the mud during low tide to high ground because by the time high tide rolled around again during the night, that mud trail would be completely submerged under water.

View from the campsite.  Looks like a great place to cast a line.  No time for that now, though.  It'll have to wait until other chores are done.

Marie & Delores, along with the 7 guys that were camping as well, spent the next hour unloading gear and setting up camp.

By 12:30, everyone had their tents set up and were taking a break.

Island exploration revealed this unusual site.  What's left of a dead palm tree, its base all hollowed out now and full of water from the rising and falling tides.  There were many of these scattered along the shoreline of the island.

Delores and Marie can't sit still for too long so after exploring some of the island shoreline, they jumped back in their kayaks and paddled to a nearby oyster bar to try their luck at catching a few fish

Just using Gulp bail on jig-heads lured a few small trout but that was about it.  It is a place to put on the "let's do it again" list, maybe during a better tide phase, though.

They paddled back just in time.  Dinner was being served:  salad, fried redfish and grits.  Delicious!! 

Afterwards it was stories around a bonfire and then time to call it a night as Mother Nature slowly turned the lights out.

Thursday, October 2nd brought the most beautiful sunrise ever seen.  Everyone seemed to want a picture of it.  It was close to high tide, oyster bars covered over, and if it wasn't time to paddle back to Shired Island, Delores and Marie would have done some early morning fishing.

Sunrise came and the group admired it over a cup of instant coffee but it soon became apparent that the time to break down tents and pack kayaks had arrived too quickly.  By 9:30 a.m. everyone was packed and launching for the paddle back to Shired Island which took about an hour and a half.  There was no time to dilly-dally around, though, The Hidden Coast Paddle Festival was going to filled with one adventure after another and it was time to get going!

Early Bird Island Camping Trip

As the morning progresses, new paddlers/campers arrive and unload

Marie is getting her kayak loaded with camping & fishing gear.

Delores's Loaner Kayak

Lining up the kayaks for the armada launch...

A picture perfect day for a paddling a kayak

Shired Island Fishing Pier

Red Tide Evidence -

Amongst all the dead fish was this little fella

By 10:00 a.m., everyone was ready to hit the water!
Two women and 10 men (7 campers / 3 guides)

Now it's a six mile paddle to Butler Island  :o)

68 degrees
cloudy skies
wind @ 3 mph
bar pressure @ 30
1/2 moon
outgoing tide
Let's get it on !!!

Martha Ann in Big Pine Key - Journal Entry #2

Martha Ann in Big Pine Key - Journal Entry #3

Martha Ann in Big Pine Key - Journal Entry #4