By Vladimir Brezina
We’re back from our week-long kayak trip, safe and sound—well, except for the usual collection of sunburn blisters and cuts and scrapes and insect bites…
Thank you so much, everybody who wished us a safe and fun trip—it was magical! Johna’s still writing the story and I am processing hundreds of photos. Here are a few to get you started…
Oh, I forgot to mention where we went! Any guesses?
... kayaked the waters around New York for more than 15 years in his red Feathercraft folding kayak. He was originally from (the former) Czechoslovakia and lived in the U.K. and California before settling down in New York. He was a neuroscientist at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. He died in 2016.
... is a kayaker and technology researcher at Nemertes Research. She's an erstwhile engineer, particle physicist, and science fiction writer. She was born in California and has lived in Italy, Norway, Hawaii, and a few other places. She currently resides in New York City.
 | CurlsnSkirls on The First Leg! |
 | Johna Till Johnson on The First Leg! |
| Johna Till Johnson on The First Leg! |
 | Marilyn Albright on The First Leg! |
| CurlsnSkirls on The First Leg! |
| Johna Till Johnson on Looks Like They Made It! |
 | Pit on Looks Like They Made It! |
| Johna Till Johnson on More Scenes From the Nort… |
| CurlsnSkirls on Halfway There! |
 | Larry Jensen on More Scenes From the Nort… |
| Johna Till Johnson on R2AK: Scenes From the Northern… |
 | Frank Winters on R2AK: Scenes From the Northern… |
| Johna Till Johnson on Halfway There! |
| CurlsnSkirls on Halfway There! |
| Johna Till Johnson on And They’re Off! |
Wind Against Current 
Love the composition of the “still life” with the fruit. It looks like a painting. I don’t know exactly where you went, but it sure is beautiful; I’m amazed at how much you can fold and take with you–sleeping quarters, furniture…
The thought of sunburn blisters is painful.
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We went to the Gulf coast of Florida, between St. Pete Beach and Fort Myers, more or less.
You can pack an amazing amount of stuff into a sea kayak, so much that, if you are not careful, it will be sinking below you into the waves… The challenge lies not in bringing enough, but in not bringing too much!
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Gorgeous! I’d love to know how you planned this trip. It’s so lovely!
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All will be revealed in our more detailed posts, forthcoming. But basically we followed the route of the Everglades Challenge, a race that we want to do for real next year. That given, the details were mostly unplanned this time round, since the aim of this trip was exploratory. All we did was mark out likely camping spots and then camped at whatever spot offered itself at the end of each day—most of them actually were not the ones we marked in advance, but others that we just happened to come upon…
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So cool! I;d love to do that. We’ve been looking at simple sea kayaks for years. this trip sounds great!~ Love it! Thank you. – Renee
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Not knowing the US of A that well, well… actually never been there but still, I would say Florida. Fun all the way! Did you try for tarpon off the kayak? ;-)
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Good guess—Florida it is!
We haven’t yet got into kayak fishing, although we keep saying we will… But tarpon might be just a bit too ambitious, at least to begin with ;-)
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As always wonderful pics, I especially like the one of Johna edging the folding kayak. So cool. All the best guys… Just got back from Vegas!
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Thanks,Taino! Yes, I thought the one of Johna edging—for no real reason; I think she was just playing around—was kind of cool :-)
I hope we can finally pull off that paddle together, to Sandy Hook or around Staten Island, that we’ve talked about for a few years now! :-)
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Yes, Vlad’s right–I was just playing around. I mean, even a Feathercraft ought to be edge-able, if you’re a good enough paddler. Or so I’m told :-).
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Wow, what an adventure! Thanks for dropping into my blog. I did wonder if your camera ever got a dunking? All that water and cameras don’t really mix. Guess you are pretty well insured…..I digress, thanks for sharing your beautiful pictures from your part of the world.
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You are most welcome! We still have to write up the trip properly…
It’s a waterproof camera. So no worries about water and cameras not mixing—I dunk it in water to clean it! :-)
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fantastic photos – the deck chair on the sand spit appeals especially though some of the other are probably more stunning.
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The deck chair, with coffee at hand, was indeed very appealing in the early morning… :-)
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Hello Johna and Vlad! I love your pics and sure hope you can make it to the Everglade’s Challenge next year. I was there this year doing some coverage for a magazine as well as helping out a friend. I have TONS of photos and I have to say that it was so exciting to be there. It’s a wonderful event involving some outstanding people, to include all the volunteers and those racing. I hope to make it back next year myself, if even for just a little bit. In 2014 the Ultimate Challenge will run simultaneously. My pics are on my flickr account, not on my blog. Here is the link to one of the sets, if you are interested. There are several sets on there from the EC 2013 so make sure to look around: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28715664@N08/sets/72157633055028177/
Dana/Breathe Magazine
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Thanks so much, Dana! Your photos are beautiful, as well as very informative for us who want to do the Challenge. We’ll study them carefully. :-)
We’ve wanted to do the Challenge for several years, but something has always come up to prevent it. But 2014 for sure—we really hope to see you there!
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Lovely photos. Some I’d like to just step into, and spend the day :-)
Have you thought about using galleries? Allows people to both scroll easily to the next post, and easily display (nearly) full-screen view of the photos individually.
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Thanks! :-)
I use galleries when it’s the overall impression that matters and not so much the individual photos, as for instance here and here.
But otherwise I prefer not to use galleries. The photos are too small (with the theme used by this blog) and it’s hard to control the sizing and even placing of the individual photos (with the tiled galleries, which is the most attractive of the gallery options). It’s true that a gallery comes with a built-in slideshow, but not many people click on a photo in the gallery to get to that option…
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Sorry I’ve not been paying attention. We line on Pine Island and you passed within a half mile of us. Next time you are in the neighborhood, let us know. We would love to help with anything you may need.
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Thanks so much—that’s very kind of you! We’ve paddled in that area a couple of times already in the last year or so, and we’ll certainly be back again in the future. So it might be fun to connect up! :-)
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Indeed, it would be fun to connect. Perhaps we could help you re-supply during your race next year. Lets us know when you are in the area.
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We certainly will! (Although accepting outside assistance during the actual race is not allowed, I believe…)
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That would be great. Would love to know you are in the area even if we can’t help.
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The happy faces are as beautiful as the landscape and sea! Thank you for sharing :D
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Thank you for putting it that happy way!! :-)
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My pleasure! :D
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Hi Vladimir! I thought of you when I did the post below. Not as grand as your adventures but loads of fun anyway
http://snapflycook.wordpress.com/2013/06/30/photography-overweight/
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Great post, and yes, loads of fun! Keep it up!! :-)
Thanks, Andrew!
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