Adventures with Pajama Dave...

What is it about having company that helps you see more of your town than you ever have on your own? I've lived in Fernandina for nearly three years now, yet in the past two days I've seen more of it and learned more about it than I have in all the time I've lived here. Thanks to a visit from mom and Kathleen!

Today we ventured out to take a boat ride from Amelia Island out to Cumberland Island, captained by the aforementioned Pajama Dave. It was a pretty awesome day scenery-wise.

Shrimp Boats

Paper Mill

Pippi Longstocking's House.

Boat. Someone should take a look at this thing.

Boy fishing.

Fishing with Ft. Clinch in the background.

Fishing with Ft. Clinch in the background.

Ft. Clinch. We walked here from the beach house yesterday. 10 miles round trip according to our calculations.

Patriotism.

Freaking submarine right off our shore! There were lots of escort boats around, making sure no one got too close. 

Seamen on deck. Been waiting all day to say that one.

AND NOW FOR THE FLYING STINGRAYS!!!
Apparently, it is prime time for mating season, and in Cumberland Sound, this can only mean one thing: Sting Rays flying out of the water to attract mates. I've never seen anything like it.

Dolphins. We heard the navy releases dolphins into the channel ahead of the submarine as scouts. Definitely wasn't listening to why or how or what they're sent out to scout. I got distracted by dolphins. And Submarines.

Horse on Cumberland.

Of course.

Did you know that the Island has a netting factory that manufactures the backstop/batting cage type nets for 85% of major league baseball teams? Me neither. It's crazy. They used to make shrimping nets but switched over to sport netting in the 70's when the shrimping industry took a hit. These guys outfit Major League baseball, but also tons of college teams. 

Kathleen, nice factory worker man, and Mom admiring the nets.

It's nice to know how much there is to explore and see in your own town sometimes. I'm pretty grateful I got the chance to see all of this today. And to watch Kathleen, running barefoot to flag down the mailman to ask directions to the net plant. I'm really glad I got to see that. Just like old times.

"Parker, Parker, Parker..."

It was around mid March of this year that I found myself back in Key Largo. There are a couple places within Outward Bound that hold special magic for me, and Key Largo is definitely one of them. It's the place where I got my ass handed to me by the Everglades. Then it became the place where I came storming back. It's the place where I was in awe of a couple of powerful mentors, and it's the place where I formed some phenomenal, can't-live-without-em friendships.

So it's a little different being back without all of those people. Other things that are different...well for starters turning in a canoe and a paddle for a desk and a computer. And...how about the four days in the field rather than 20? It threw me for a loop for a while, but then I realized that there are still a lot of adventures to be had. Kim and I  kicked off my month in the keys by spending St. Patrick's Day paddling into the mangroves, sneaking into a notorious OB instructor spot near the sea house. It was a day of a lot of natural greens.

I was really excited to get down to work when my team got to Key Largo. But pretty soon brief was over, they were in the field and I was faced with course from the other side. The thing that threw me for a loop right off the bat was going to see the Hunger Games on night one of course, a night when I'm usually teaching kids how to clean dishes over the grey water bucket and making sure they set up their healy hammocks the right way. But I soon settled into a routine of field visits, working in the office, and a general carpe diem attitude in regards to play time.

Heading out to River Visit

One night, Kelley and I went out to dinner. As we pulled up to the restaurant, we noticed a group of people near the water, taking pictures of something. The 'something' turned out to be the Logistics Coordinator of the Key Largo Base. Mike had gone out for a sunset paddleboard, which was a postcard-type moment for most of the visiting tourists. He then offered to let Kelley and myself paddleboard. We spent about ten minutes, trying to get on the board. Kelley got completely soaked and I nearly peed my pants laughing. After a quick change of clothes in the parking lot, we were off to Sharkey's. It always ends at Sharkey's.

I headed out to solo to see the team. It was a pretty fun couple of days that resulted in a lot of good pictures. When I returned to base, a storm hit the team and they were going to have to take a different route and really motor to get home in time. I was so nervous about them that I refused to post any pictures from solo until I knew they were home safe and sound. Turns out they rocked it and there was no need to worry anyways.

Colleen being supportive.

Trying to figure out knots.

Kristin and I have been lots of places together, but in the entire time we had been in Outward Bound we had yet to be at Highland together. It was a monumentous occasion, one that we toasted with diet orange soda over breakfast.

This was serious talk time. Two minutes later it was serious run around the beach and take pictures time. See below: the butts.

Team infectious waste. The butts.

Getting back to Key Largo meant getting back to some good friends. Jinky and Marnocha got into town just in time for a spectacular sunset, and Phil and I tagged along.

Everglades Training, part 3

THE TOP QUOTES OF EVERGLADES TRAINING 2012

"I like parasites. They keep you on your toes."

"This is beyond analyst architect. This is insanity."

"Oh boy."

"1,2,3 board up. 1,2,3 take off your pfd. 1,2,3 cook dinner..."

"I've been waiting for this finger all day!"

"And then Harry was like 'Voldemort's back!' and everyone else was like 'Bull shit!'"

Ah. The Everglades. When you add it up, I've probably spent more days in the Everglades than out this year. And I knew I had spent a lot of time there when we were passing through "The Labyrinth" the other day (notoriously difficult to navigate through) and I turned to my co-trainer Alex and said: "Ah. I had lunch at that corner last year." Or when passing through "The Nightmare," (another super intimidating route) and pointing out the site where I pulled a mangrove straight out of the glades last December while trying to pull canoes through a tight space.

Yes, you could say I know the Everglades like the back of my hand, or like the acrid, sulfur smell that greets you when you wake up in Tarpon Hook at low tide. I could recognize that smell anywhere, like the St. Mary's River on a warm summer morning. In 2012 alone, I've paddled all over Everglades National Park, both in the south end and the north end. And as I washed my hair on Highland beach with dish soap (you know how we do) the other day and then fell asleep to the sounds of the wind in the palm trees above me, I realized that I love it just as much as I did the first time I was out here on my own Everglades Training, almost three years ago. I can't believe so much time has passed.

I remember hitting the gulf for the first time and the intimidating feeling I had looking out over this huge mass of water. When I expressed these fears to my trainer Amy, she looked at me and said "It's three feet deep. Calm down." But if you know Amy, you probably also know that she uses more colorful language than that.

I remember being in awe when we left the Harney River Chickee after a long lightning drill and paddled down the Wilderness Waterway, watching the mangrove forests grow bigger and seeing the roseate spoonbills flying above us.

I remember that first night on Highland and falling in love with the sound of the wind and the waves and the palm trees.

I remember how amazing it felt to step foot on land after paddling the 38 miles from Highland Beach to our take-out site at Coot Bay Pond, having traveled 12 hours overnight to do it. That night still ranks in one of my top ten memories with Outward Bound.

Back in December I had the opportunity to do it again as a trainer. And then, unexpectedly this month I went out for the third go around. Everglades training: always exciting, always something new.

Sunset at Long Pine: night #1.

Kathy, Colleen, and Jefferson boarding up at the Chocolate Chip Cookie.

Taste the Rainbow. Photo courtesy of Alex Tiberio.

Lesson time on Highland Beach. Photo courtesy of Alex Tiberio.

Yep, they got the isis on the first try. And attached a hammock/sail to it. There be pirates here.

45 minutes into the Gauntlet and we were mudded out. But the view sure was pretty.

13 hours later, after paddling straight through the night, we watched the sun come up at the South Joe Chickee. Here I am with my co-trainer, Alex.

I don't know if y'all were aware, but Kathy Sprowles solo paddles like it's nobody's business.

Coming out of Glades training has been a whirlwind of wrapping up course, dreaming about time off, and thinking about work again. I'm hoping the next couple weeks will give me time to breathe a bit, or at the very least, read Harry Potter.