Thursday, May 28, 2015
Weather conditions:
High – 86
Low – 65
The time now is 2:15 pm, and I am sitting on a sandbar without trees (New criteria for a camping spot – trees. These trees need to be close enough to the river to access from boats, but not too close to the river or the mosquitos will carry us away. In other words, seven perfectly placed trees. We live in an idealistic world.) in the heat on the Mississippi River. It still seems surreal since a year ago we were just in the planning phase of this trip. We didn’t even have a blog yet. However, we had spent many evenings participating in “table time”, intensive planning at the dining room table. Table time almost always included a lap top, iPad, coffee, and dessert or some kind of snack. By this time, I had investigated and purchased my food dehydrator and had begun to dehydrate fruits, such as bananas, pineapple, and grapes. Today we are reaping the benefits of all the hours spent planning and preparing. We have just the right gear (John’s expertise) and are well-fed (my contribution).
I wonder what a year from now will look like in the lives of John and LaNae Abnet. Will we be planning another adventure or will we be in the midst of one? What is the definition of an adventure? Is it the same for everyone? Can everyday life be an adventure if you have the proper perspective? (You can tell there isn’t a lot going on here since my mind is so busy contemplating.)
Here’s the recap of our day….
4:00 – rise and shine
4:30 – breakfast and prepare lunch
5:00 – roll up sleeping bags in tent
6:00 – pack kayaks
6:30 – on the river
8:00 – potty break
10:30 – lunch
1:00 – stop and set up camp (total paddled – 27 miles)
1:30 – bath
1:45 – rest – try to stay cool
2:45 – walk 500 yards to get in shade – read
4:30 – back in sun to make and eat dinner
6:00 – put on swim suit to play in water *
6:30 – journal in shade of tent with wet swim suit on
7:00 – close up hatches of the kayaks for the night
7:30 – retire to tent – flies are biting – to check charts for tomorrow and relax
8:00 – to sleep because 4:00 comes early
Sounds pretty boring. Sometimes boring is good since that means I didn’t have any overturned boats to report…..
* Embarrassing moment – I decided to change into my swimsuit and take advantage of the cooling effects of the Mississippi River. A barge had just gone by on its way upstream, so I thought it would be safe to duck behind the tent to change. I removed my pants and pulled up the bottom half of my swim suit. That’s when I decided to look down stream – a little too late….. There was a fishing boat buzzing right toward us. Oops! Moral of this story – look both ways before dropping your drawers.
Thanks for following our adventure. For photos and videos of the events mentioned in this daily journal, check us out on Instagram @ separateboats.
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