Our adventure goal was to paddle 10 miles over 2 days (5 miles each day) around one of the top rated beaches in the nation (actually ranked the #1 beach in 2008) - Caladesi Island in Dunedin, Florida. Caladesi is only accessible by boat.
The cold temps tamped down the crowds which gave us a very personalized and extra amazing experience! The temps inched up to the mid 60's as we paddled under a gorgeous deep blue sky.
In the first 5 minutes of paddling we saw 2 dolphins only 50 feet away!
We paddled down the east side of Caladesi stopping for a few hours at Caladesi Island Marina where we enjoyed lunch at the cafe, a wilderness tour, and the remote pristine beach (of course).
Afterwards it was on into the Caladesi Kayak Trail which traverses through a maze of mangrove canopies that was another feast for the eyes =).
The trail spit us out just a half mile from a series of spoil islands that would serve as our camp for the night. This half mile was the hardest part of our adventure as the afternoon winds and waves had picked up. We battled our way across to the island with one kayaker capsizing and plunging into the cool intercoastal waters. Despite the harsh conditions we all reached the island safe & sound with about 2 hours of daylight left.
We set up camp, built a fire, made dinner, shared our highlights of the day as well as our ambitions, and then dove into Matthew 6:25-34. We talked about God's design for us to not walk through life full of worry. It robs us of fully living in the present and enjoying God's provisions. His solution to worry is to replace it with trust in our Heavenly Father, a life of faith in the finish work of Jesus, and a focus that revolves around 1 main priority (broken into 2 parts) - seeking first His Kingdom and His Righteousness. Very simple, but profound!
After hanging out around the fire for a while it was off to bed. This was the end of Day 1... we still had another full day of adventures ahead of us on Sunday =)
