By Peter Clayton
These write-ups were always secondary to the photos and Stan’s latest just emphasize that – soon National Geographic will want to join to see them.
We had excellent weather although the wind was in our face almost the entire trip. The weather brought crowds – we were at the launch by 9:30 but had to wait 15 minutes to push off because of all the paddlers – we’ve never seen so many. There were several pontoon boats heading upstream, some obviously tour operators, as well as smaller outboards just out for pleasure. There were also half a dozen racing canoes, some apparently prepping for an event. Everyone was courteous but the crowds spoiled the atmosphere to some extent.
However our four “first timers” got to see the usual highlights as documented by Stan including some rather large gators. Our usual rest stop at the State park’s aluminum dock was packed so had to paddle straight through – everyone was happy to pull out at noon. Corky Bell’s was also packed but we only had to wait 20 minutes for an inside table – great way to end a long but happy day.
