Anticipation

I open my email and there’s over a dozen feverish group messages from my fellow kayakers. It’s been like this for a month. You’d think we’d be used to it.

“It” being our impending annual spring expedition to the Deep South. We’ve done this before, so why is everyone frenetic? Maybe the flame of excitement is fanned by the winter winds that blow outside. But, the promise of warm climes doesn’t begin to explain the boiling anticipation.

It wasn’t always like this. At first, signing up paddlers for the spring event almost seemed like a sales job. I didn’t understand it. This was a unique adventure. Something few people they knew would even contemplate, much less experience. You only go through life once (Shirley MacLaine withstanding). What were they waiting for? Why squander your entire life in your own limited warren when there’s a vast world of sights and experiences waiting to be savored? And, we were making it so easy to do so. Sign-up was tentative. I didn’t get it.

The first trip was three years ago to South Carolina. Two days on the Edisto River, including an overnight in a wonderful oversized treehouse, and a day kayaking off Charleston Harbor. The Edisto was a lot of fun and the night in the treehouse was like a giant sleepover. It was still good to move on from there to our hotel on Shem Creek, and make ample use of the cabana bar.

The next day, we headed out into big water. The waves were augmented by towering wakes of passing container ships. Had some fine rides that day. Of course, the longer we sat around the cabana bar that night, the more towering the wakes got.

The next year the adventure was even more ambitious. A good experience brought people back from the previous year and excellent word-of-mouth added to the troops. We paddled into the center of the legendary Okefenokee Swamp and camped on what was little more than a wooden deck. Wall-to-wall alligators. Never felt more in the heart of wilderness. Absolutely fabulous.

From there, we went to a luxury condo on Jekyll Island and once again did some big water paddling. Storm clouds did nothing to dampen the fun. We simply motored up to St. Simons and depleted the inventory of a paddling outfitter and took advantage of the exquisite entertainment there. The speculation was that we would never be able to top that trip.

But top it we did. Last year, 20 of us caravanned to Cedar Key, in the Big Bend of Florida. Word was out. These trips were a blast.

Cedar Key is a little bohemian community, and is about as enjoyable as we could stand. Days, we island hopped deep into the Gulf, paddling the aqua waters with dolphin escorts. Nights, we partied in our string of contiguous, beachside condos.

It was about 40 miles south to our “compound” on the Homosassa River, a matter of paddle strokes from the Gulf. We had nine “standard” rooms and one large suite (”party central”) in a motel/marina complex. Just off the river bank was Monkey Island. Local Good Samaritans maintained a colony of primates, who never failed to entertain. You could watch their antics from the balcony bar, or paddle out to the island. Paddling was preferable, as you could catch sight of manatees swimming by, along with the endless variety of waterfowl. A nature preserve burgeoning with wildlife was just upstream.

This was also our base for paddling and snorkeling Crystal River and The Chaz. Crystal River had the densest manatee population and we immensely enjoyed snorkeling with the massive, but gentle creatures. What an experience! The crystal-clear Chaz threaded through dense “jungle” and featured “swimming-pool-colored” springs, teeming with fish of all descriptions. We rolled out of our boats and took pleasure in them.

Now, we approach a return trip to Georgia; wilderness camping and ocean paddling. The trip “sold out” almost immediately. That’s more like it.

Warm breezes, aqua waters, manatees, alligators, monkeys, dolphins and once-in-a-lifetime adventures. Were memories of this what had mature adults giddy with anticipation?

Surprisingly (or not), that’s not what the flurry of emails is about. There’s little mention of wildlife or waves. Most of the banter is about the laughs, interchanges, practical jokes, mishaps, and other “incidental” things that occurred in the course of past trips. They’re about the fun of experiencing whatever the trip holds, together. Good, bad or ugly, whatever transpires, we’ll enjoy it together.

I still think the principal attraction is to spend a week enriching our lives with unique experiences. But, as long as everyone has a great time…