We drove north, passing through Panama City to our destination of Econfina Creek. The first place we stopped was a "canoe launch". See? A canoe is practically a kayak. It carries a person atop water. Anyway, I felt as if I'd traveled a gazillion miles from the beach. This was a wooded area with dirt roads. (And a port-a-potty. Shiver!)
While I'm silently screaming "for the love of God get me out of here," John's smile continues to widen until his face almost cracks. The guy's in heaven, and I swear I could almost see the wheels spinning inside his head as he looked left...
and then right...and pictured himself in his kayak ON this river!
On the opposite side it was a little more civilized. There were boardwalks...
and natural springs lined with maple, American Holly...
and palm trees. There are two in this photo. One in the middle and one to the right.
Then, John found THE perfect place to launch his kayak. (Look carefully and you'll see those wheels spinning.) I could almost hear him contemplating how to place his kayak in the water at exactly the right angle to compensate for the swift current, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah....
I wasn't as eager to embrace our surroundings. I mean, come on, there were bugs, creepy crawlers, and sink holes. SINK holes - as in MORE than one. Thus the need for the boardwalks. Sheesh!
I feigned a smile and did my best to remain calm and collect. I strolled along the trails, even when I felt like running back to the safely of the inside of our van. I even snapped some photos and found this vine wrapping around the tree sort of cool. Creepy, but cool.
I know John well enough to know we'll return with the kayak. There's no way he'll miss out on an opportunity to paddle down this river. Me? I'm staying in the van. :)
Stay tuned for the gruesome details!
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