OK Geezer fans, Geezer Al and Geezer Mike had their first planning meeting tonight. Looking like mid-February to mid-March this year beeline for the Tampa area for a kayak symposium then working the rest out over the next few days/weeks.
Watch the blog for future developments.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Home Again
Well, the Fat Lady’s been heard from – the guys are home. Here are some statistics for the trip:
- Miles driven – 6,600
- Campgrounds sampled – 8
- Thermoses of coffee consumed – 45
- Pounds of pistachios shelled and eaten – 4
- Liters of Evan Williams sipped – 3
- Bird species seen - 145
- Laughs, “wow” moments and good chats with friends – too many to count
Yesterday was a long day on the road, traveling from South Carolina to Annapolis, Maryland. Our mouths were set for Maryland crab cakes, and friend of the Cavanaugh family, Chris Gorri, escorted us to a great little place on the water to satisfy that need. It was good to see Chris and hear about his job with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Final packing at Myrtle Beach State Park
Morning found us at Chesapeake Light Craft’s shop, looking over the boat kits and chatting with the staff. Owner John Harris gave us a good rundown on conducting kayak-building workshops. We’ve been contemplating doing one, and wanted to know what’s involved. The morning slipped away quickly as we left drool marks on the show room models of the many fine kayaks, canoes, rowing boats and small sailing craft they sell as kits. www.clcboats.com
Chesapeake Light Craft shop, Annapolis
John Harris shows us around the CLC building shop
Around noon, we knew the time had come to bring Geezer Trip 2010 to a close. The long drive home through Baltimore, New Jersey, and lower New York was uneventful, other than seeing some flooding from the recent heavy rains.
On the final leg of the journey, our thoughts turned to some favorite things:
- Campgrounds, including Gulf Islands National Seashore (MS), Collier-Seminole State Park (FL), Long Point County Park (FL) and Crooked River State Park (GA).
- Eating establishments, including Murphy’s Eats & Sweets (TN), Rachel’s Widow’s Walk (MS), Regan’s Pub & Oyster Bar (FL), Long Point Restaurant (FL), Lucky Dawg’s (GA) and Okefenokee Restaurant (GA).
- Paddling spots, including the wild barrier beaches of Deer Island (MS), the manatees and dolphins of the Indian River (FL), the serene brown waters of Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge (SC).
- People that we met along the way, new friends and old. Kenny, Jen and Martha who defined Southern hospitality and who gave us lots of laughs, fine grub and good beverages with the Old Curmudgeon, dinner with Don and Susan, meeting and paddling with new friend Andy, who lent us a kayak and his local knowledge, Walk Clark who seems to find us out of the blue wherever we camp in Florida, and, of course, the two ladies that flew down to spend a week with us (hope our wives don’t find out).
Now a final thanks to our loyal readers. Your comments helped buoy us along the way. And a toast to each other - the two of us managed to travel together for a solid month, and are still speaking – eh Mike? Mike??
- Miles driven – 6,600
- Campgrounds sampled – 8
- Thermoses of coffee consumed – 45
- Pounds of pistachios shelled and eaten – 4
- Liters of Evan Williams sipped – 3
- Bird species seen - 145
- Laughs, “wow” moments and good chats with friends – too many to count
Yesterday was a long day on the road, traveling from South Carolina to Annapolis, Maryland. Our mouths were set for Maryland crab cakes, and friend of the Cavanaugh family, Chris Gorri, escorted us to a great little place on the water to satisfy that need. It was good to see Chris and hear about his job with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Final packing at Myrtle Beach State ParkMorning found us at Chesapeake Light Craft’s shop, looking over the boat kits and chatting with the staff. Owner John Harris gave us a good rundown on conducting kayak-building workshops. We’ve been contemplating doing one, and wanted to know what’s involved. The morning slipped away quickly as we left drool marks on the show room models of the many fine kayaks, canoes, rowing boats and small sailing craft they sell as kits. www.clcboats.com
Chesapeake Light Craft shop, Annapolis
John Harris shows us around the CLC building shopAround noon, we knew the time had come to bring Geezer Trip 2010 to a close. The long drive home through Baltimore, New Jersey, and lower New York was uneventful, other than seeing some flooding from the recent heavy rains.
On the final leg of the journey, our thoughts turned to some favorite things:
- Campgrounds, including Gulf Islands National Seashore (MS), Collier-Seminole State Park (FL), Long Point County Park (FL) and Crooked River State Park (GA).
- Eating establishments, including Murphy’s Eats & Sweets (TN), Rachel’s Widow’s Walk (MS), Regan’s Pub & Oyster Bar (FL), Long Point Restaurant (FL), Lucky Dawg’s (GA) and Okefenokee Restaurant (GA).
- Paddling spots, including the wild barrier beaches of Deer Island (MS), the manatees and dolphins of the Indian River (FL), the serene brown waters of Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge (SC).
- People that we met along the way, new friends and old. Kenny, Jen and Martha who defined Southern hospitality and who gave us lots of laughs, fine grub and good beverages with the Old Curmudgeon, dinner with Don and Susan, meeting and paddling with new friend Andy, who lent us a kayak and his local knowledge, Walk Clark who seems to find us out of the blue wherever we camp in Florida, and, of course, the two ladies that flew down to spend a week with us (hope our wives don’t find out).
Now a final thanks to our loyal readers. Your comments helped buoy us along the way. And a toast to each other - the two of us managed to travel together for a solid month, and are still speaking – eh Mike? Mike??
Monday, March 29, 2010
Quote of the Day
Mike remarks on the very dark brown waters of the cypress-lined Waccamaw River:
"This isn't tea-color, it's more like Guinness..."
The dark waters act as a mirror
"This isn't tea-color, it's more like Guinness..."
The dark waters act as a mirror
The beginning of the end
Well, we got into Myrtle Beach State Park last evening. The park is very pretty with a wide beach and fishing pier within easy walk from the campsite. The campsite is a little tighter than some, not as tight as others, but well appointed and clean. After set-up headed into the "Grand Strand" to explore the closest thing to civilization we have seen in weeks. Hundreds of restaurants, pubs and attractions within a few mile drive. With all those places competing for the tourist dollar, it was just our luck to pick one that excelled in mediocraty. Big Daddy's Roadhouse served watery, tastless chili and an OK tossed salad - but at least it was expensive!
Back to the campground and settled in for a quiet night dreaming of Guinness & Chicken Wings at the Ale House (Get ready, Booie!) About 3:00 AM the skies erupted in thunder, lightning and very heavy rain and Al & Mike found them scrambling to secure windows and vents in the camper - A perfect way to end a very forgetable evening.
An omelette in the making
By morning, the rain turned to a light drizzle so we hauled our sorry arses out of bed, fixed a couple of ham & cheese omlettes and got ready to explore the local waters. We stopped at a very helpful Kayak shop and got directions to the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge on the river of the same name. Absolute dead quiet - no human sounds. Gators, water snakes, ospreys galore. Mike pulled out early and Al paddled solo for another hour or so. Mike sat on the banks and engaged in the hard job of watching the river flow by! Whew! That deserved a "Whelan" (nap to you non-geezers).
Paddling the Waccamaw
Ospreys at their nest in a big cypress
Nap, showers and we were ready for diner. Unwilling to make another food mistake we followed the recommendation of a campsite staffer and headed for Murphy's Law Sports Pub. WOW - good food, huge quantities and excellent prices with helpful staff! Gets the GeezersGoSouth 4 paddle award!
Came back to a wet and soggy campground to blog and plot out tomorrows trip to Annapolis, MD for a meeting at Chesapeake Light Craft on Wednesday then back home on Wednesday night. Tomorrow, we stay in a motel - first bed since March 1. Hope we can sleep.
Back to the campground and settled in for a quiet night dreaming of Guinness & Chicken Wings at the Ale House (Get ready, Booie!) About 3:00 AM the skies erupted in thunder, lightning and very heavy rain and Al & Mike found them scrambling to secure windows and vents in the camper - A perfect way to end a very forgetable evening.
An omelette in the makingBy morning, the rain turned to a light drizzle so we hauled our sorry arses out of bed, fixed a couple of ham & cheese omlettes and got ready to explore the local waters. We stopped at a very helpful Kayak shop and got directions to the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge on the river of the same name. Absolute dead quiet - no human sounds. Gators, water snakes, ospreys galore. Mike pulled out early and Al paddled solo for another hour or so. Mike sat on the banks and engaged in the hard job of watching the river flow by! Whew! That deserved a "Whelan" (nap to you non-geezers).
Paddling the Waccamaw
Ospreys at their nest in a big cypressNap, showers and we were ready for diner. Unwilling to make another food mistake we followed the recommendation of a campsite staffer and headed for Murphy's Law Sports Pub. WOW - good food, huge quantities and excellent prices with helpful staff! Gets the GeezersGoSouth 4 paddle award!
Came back to a wet and soggy campground to blog and plot out tomorrows trip to Annapolis, MD for a meeting at Chesapeake Light Craft on Wednesday then back home on Wednesday night. Tomorrow, we stay in a motel - first bed since March 1. Hope we can sleep.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Gators and dogs - heading north!
Well, the Geezers ain’t done right with our blogging, but we’re fixin’ ta make it up ta y’all. Ok, maybe we have been south too long, but we are in the process of fixing that also.
On Friday, March 26th, the winds were whipping the bay up to a fair froth, so we decided to forgo a paddle in favor of a visit to Jekyll Island, GA, about 30 miles north of the campground. Interesting place, surrounded by water (Yes, it IS an island – DUH!) with tidal marshes on one side and wide, white sand beaches on the Atlantic Ocean side. Another interesting thing is that the land is all part of a state park, but there is a thriving community of homes, hotels and shops who must pay lease to the state.
Entrance to Jekyll Island and bridge to Brunswick, GA
We stopped at the Wayfarer Memorial, a monument to a ship intercepted in the late 1850’s with 487 slaves captured from Africa aboard – even though the practice of importing slaves had been outlawed for nearly 50 years.
That night, we again met up with FOG (Friend of Geezers - remember?) Andy Lundberg, who gave us use of one of his kayaks for a few weeks while the Geezerettes were visiting. We made a return visit to Lucky Dawgs pub for more good beer, good food, good music and good conversation – what more could a Geezer ask for? Well sated, we headed back to the Crooked River campground to set up Andy’s hammock/tent on our site and retired to the camper for a wee dram of bourbon and planning the next day’s adventures.
Saturday dawned bright and early – though we didn’t. Andy had never paddled in the Okefenokee Swamp, so, being right neighborly hosts, we headed the 45 minutes west and launched at the Folkston side of the 700 square mile National Wildlife Refuge. We paddled about 10 miles visiting with other paddlers and the occasional ‘gator. It was beautiful. You really had a feeling of isolation out there with the call of the Sandhill Cranes and whistle of the winds to keep you company. Since there is no solid ground, the refuge has occasional platforms for kayakers & canoeists to get out and stretch, eat or take a potty break. Geezer Mike really appreciated getting out of the kayak now and then to try and regain feeling in his legs!
Cedar Hammock Shelter at Okefenokee
A new honorary Geezer - Andy
Mike shows Geezer-in-training Andy how to take a "Whelan"
The gators showed little interest - they know that Geezers are tough eating
After loading the boats back on the Geezermobile, we said goodbye to Andy who had a 3 hour return trip to Tallahassee. He was a lot of fun to hang with and hope we cross paths again – he was even adapting his hard-charging manner to working on Geezer Standard time! Andy headed south and the Geezers headed east into the little town of Folkston where we spotted the Okefenokee Restaurant and the parking lot was full – always a sign of good things to come. The buffet contained delicious southern fried chicken, catfish, ham hocks, yams, corn, stewed tomatoes, bean cooked in ham fat, fried okra, Swiss steak in onion gravy and Georgia peaches and lots more ALL FOR $8.00! We got our money’s worth! ‘Nuff said about that!
Sunday is a travel day. We broke camp by about 9:30 or 10:00 and started north to our next stop, Myrtle Beach ,SC. Unfortunately, the highlight of the day’s travel was eating gas station “roller dogs” enroute to Myrtle. Nothing compares to the goodness of a cheap hot dog slow-cooked by six hours on heated rollers! YUM! Hopefully tonight we can make up for the insult to our bellies!
Roller dog - down the hatch
On Friday, March 26th, the winds were whipping the bay up to a fair froth, so we decided to forgo a paddle in favor of a visit to Jekyll Island, GA, about 30 miles north of the campground. Interesting place, surrounded by water (Yes, it IS an island – DUH!) with tidal marshes on one side and wide, white sand beaches on the Atlantic Ocean side. Another interesting thing is that the land is all part of a state park, but there is a thriving community of homes, hotels and shops who must pay lease to the state.
Entrance to Jekyll Island and bridge to Brunswick, GAWe stopped at the Wayfarer Memorial, a monument to a ship intercepted in the late 1850’s with 487 slaves captured from Africa aboard – even though the practice of importing slaves had been outlawed for nearly 50 years.
That night, we again met up with FOG (Friend of Geezers - remember?) Andy Lundberg, who gave us use of one of his kayaks for a few weeks while the Geezerettes were visiting. We made a return visit to Lucky Dawgs pub for more good beer, good food, good music and good conversation – what more could a Geezer ask for? Well sated, we headed back to the Crooked River campground to set up Andy’s hammock/tent on our site and retired to the camper for a wee dram of bourbon and planning the next day’s adventures.
Saturday dawned bright and early – though we didn’t. Andy had never paddled in the Okefenokee Swamp, so, being right neighborly hosts, we headed the 45 minutes west and launched at the Folkston side of the 700 square mile National Wildlife Refuge. We paddled about 10 miles visiting with other paddlers and the occasional ‘gator. It was beautiful. You really had a feeling of isolation out there with the call of the Sandhill Cranes and whistle of the winds to keep you company. Since there is no solid ground, the refuge has occasional platforms for kayakers & canoeists to get out and stretch, eat or take a potty break. Geezer Mike really appreciated getting out of the kayak now and then to try and regain feeling in his legs!
Cedar Hammock Shelter at Okefenokee
A new honorary Geezer - Andy
Mike shows Geezer-in-training Andy how to take a "Whelan"
The gators showed little interest - they know that Geezers are tough eatingAfter loading the boats back on the Geezermobile, we said goodbye to Andy who had a 3 hour return trip to Tallahassee. He was a lot of fun to hang with and hope we cross paths again – he was even adapting his hard-charging manner to working on Geezer Standard time! Andy headed south and the Geezers headed east into the little town of Folkston where we spotted the Okefenokee Restaurant and the parking lot was full – always a sign of good things to come. The buffet contained delicious southern fried chicken, catfish, ham hocks, yams, corn, stewed tomatoes, bean cooked in ham fat, fried okra, Swiss steak in onion gravy and Georgia peaches and lots more ALL FOR $8.00! We got our money’s worth! ‘Nuff said about that!
Sunday is a travel day. We broke camp by about 9:30 or 10:00 and started north to our next stop, Myrtle Beach ,SC. Unfortunately, the highlight of the day’s travel was eating gas station “roller dogs” enroute to Myrtle. Nothing compares to the goodness of a cheap hot dog slow-cooked by six hours on heated rollers! YUM! Hopefully tonight we can make up for the insult to our bellies!
Roller dog - down the hatch
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