Bummed out... =(

well today is my first day at home and im pretty worried about daniel crossing lake george alone. he called this morning and said that the lake looked like an ocean and the day before when i was with daniel at astor landing we were talking to a couple gentlemen about the lake, and what they had to say wasnt very comforting. they pointed to motor boats between 16 and 25 feet long and they said right now if you were to take that boat in the lake you better be prepared to sink. with the small 16 foot kayak that daniel has he wasnt looking forward to entering the lake.

march in florida is known for having lots of wind and the wind is what did me in for the trip. i have had a torn rotator cuff in my shoulder now for about three years now and paddling with the wind in my face for many miles and trying to keep an average of about 4 miles an hour in my kayak was just to much. daniel and i both knew that my shoulder was going to be an issue for the trip but we both had hope that it wouldnt be. after the second day on the river my shoulder had become aggravated with the constant stress i was putting on it. the next two days after that i was fine. which is really weird because once my shoulder begins to ache the pain slowly but surely gets worse. but as i was saying day five took its toll on me. i would still have to say that the third day was my hardest but the fifth day was just the most painful. we only had about 32 miles that day which is normally cake for us. about 5 miles away from lake george i couldnt take anymore. every stroke i was taking for about 3 miles i was practically grinding my teeth because of the pain.

i have to say that personally i didnt think i was going to make it as far as i did and for me to surpass that im very proud of myself even though i didnt make it the whole way. but as soon as i get my appointment to get my shoulder worked on im going to be planning to take four more days off to finish what i started. i feel like i have to complete what i started and thats what im going to do. i made it to far to just stop completely. but jay and i are talking about dong it together as soon as im well enough to take on the river once again.

i would like to give lots of props to seth and kieth for giving us the inspiration to even attempt the entire st. johns and for them to complete it is even more mind boggling. for the record im not out of commission yet and soon enough im going back to make sure next time that im standing on the beach in jacksonville staring at the ocean.

to everybody thats reading our blog please just say a short prayer for daniel as he completes this journey alone.


- David Heath