Sorry for poor grammar and misspelled words did not have time to
correct

I paddled out from New Bern Tuesday at around 10:30am. It was a later
start than I had hoped for. The last few days living inside made me
dread picking up the paddle. It was a nice sunny day outside, but I
just did not feel like paddling. My goal was to be about 43 miles
south in Beaufort in a couple of days. I stopped paddling about thee
in the after noon after about ten miles. I fell asleep around four in
the after noon. My days are drawing slim where I can throw down a mat
and sleeping bag and fall asleep without having to worry about
snakes, bugs, alligators and bear. See paddling in the winter has
some positive points.
Wednesday February 9, 2004
Sprinkles woke about 2:30am and I was on the water by 3:00am.
Wednesday was a long day. About thirty plus miles later fighting the
tide and running with it, and battling wind I reached the town dock
of Beaufort, NC shortly after dark. Just before the sun rose a pod of
dolphins made an appearance about fifty yards away this was the first
time in my life to see a dolphin in the wild. It felt almost surreal
to see a real live dolphin for the first time with the morning
sunrise as a backdrop. The sunrise was the best view of the sun for
the whole day. It was solid clouds, but it was 60 degrees outside.
While stopped at the waterfront a guy spotted me by my canoe on the
dock and we started talking. Anthony is very big into kayaking. I
paddled across the creek to some woods and spent the night.
Thursday Fubuary, 10, 2004
Ran into Anthony early in the morning and he drove me around the
Beaufort area and Morehead city to show me the how to pick up the
inter costal waterway. The tides are back and Beaufort sits next to
an inlet to the ocean.
Anthony expressed an interest and doing a side trip paddle for the
fun of it back up north about 40 miles away on the open ocean. The
winds were not too favorable for such a trip. I did an interview for
the local newspaper and answered some e-mail at the library. Later
that night Anthony talked me into going for what was supposed to be a
very short paddle. Turned out to be a 3-mile trek mostly fighting
either the current or the wind. This was the first time on this trip
I ever padded for the fun of it. We parked out boats at AB Kayaks
instead of the public docks. Anthony knew the owners and said they
would be cool about it. During the paddle Anthony's hands and feet
got wet and we stopped at the Back street pub (Beaufort's
neighborhood bar) so Anthony could warm up by the fire. It was cool
to meet another paddler who was stoked about paddling. I crashed on
his couch for the night.
Friday, Febuary, 11
Anthony had to catch a class in the morning and dropped me off by my
canoe. He never called AB Kayak to tell them we tied our boats off at
their docks. He told me to go to the back street pub after one and
Mandy the co-owner of AB Kayaks would be working.
I don't tie my canoe up on private property without permission. I
like to ask permission before docking. Mandy was really cool about
it. AB Kayaks have a lot of great kayaks and are a complete outfitter
whether you want to explore the outer banks or play in the surf. They
cater to every skill level from beginner to advance. While talking
mandy I met a girl named Heidi. Her mother has a bad case of MS.
Heidi moved to Beaufort from California to care for her mother. Then
I met Bryan Lee. He can do some magic tricks that with cards that
would blow anyone's mind. It was by far the best illusion I have ever
seen. Cards would change while I was holding on to them. David Blane
has done this on T.V before and never really bought it. When someone
pulls off what Bryan did to Heidi and me it makes you wonder how he
can do it.
Saturday, Febaury, 12
Met Perry Borrow the guy who runs Outer Banks Ferry Service. His
store is next to AB Kayak. Perry bought me a cup of coffee at the
local shop and explained about his ferry service. He does scenic
tours, dolphin watches, guided fishing trips. If you want to get
anywhere by water Perry is the guy to get you there. To have a
complete water taxi/ ferry service and Kayak outfitter in one area is
pretty convient if you're ever in Beaufort and want to see the wild
horses on shackleford banks
The local newspaper ran a small caption on the front page of the
newspaper yesterday with a blub about my trip and said look in
Sunday's paper. The only bad thing was the caption said Muscular
Dystrophy instead of Multiple Sclerosis. I called and told a recorder
of the misunderstanding. I hope they catch it before the Sunday
story.
Plan on pulling out Sunday with a favorable wind.
Beaufort has been one of my favorite stops and I met many wonderful
people