Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at 8:06AM The first pass at some of the images gathered along the Keys, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Inter Coastal Waterway are now on-line. More images will be available in the next several days.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at 3:05AM 
Fishermen head home for the evening
The Odyssey has now transitioned from the stormy keys, through the urban sprawl of south Florida ocean front and into the tranquil scenery of the Intercoastal Waterway rivers. The wind has faded and the temperatures are warming up, days are getting longer and the seas are calm.
The wildlife back in the rivers has been nothing short of amazing. Each day I am greeted with a display of Ospreys, Gulls, Herons, Egrets, Dolphins, Terns, and other assorted wildlife.
Approaching Georgia, the river has begun to take on a more winding route. Once almost perfectly strait, it now wins through estuaries and grass flats. The shoreline Palm trees have been replaced by large Live Oaks covered with Spanish moss, surrounded on the ground by palmetto bushes.
These different environments are all part of what makes Florida such a unique and beautiful state. It is also why a continued effort must be made to protect not only these waterways but also the most amazing of them all, the Everglades National Park.
Saturday, February 27, 2010 at 5:44AM I promise not to talk about the weather, because I know everyone, everywhere is experiencing the most bizarre winter in quite a while. So instead, this morning at 2:00 AM I got up to a 'near' full moon and ate a quick breakfast and broke camp. I was off to do one of my favorite things, paddle at night, but with a very special twist, I had a full moon to guide me.
I was not let down, as I glided down the Indian River, the moon was bright enough that I could see the bottom of the river when I was near the shore and in the shallows. This is really a very interesting stretch of water because the river is quite wide, and yet fairly developed on both sides. On the west, you have the constant hum of A1A and the freight train that runs parallel to it. The effect is that while you are in this pristine environment, you are constantly reminded of the civilization that surrounds you.
However, I am always amazed and pleased at how paddling at night can return even the most urbanized location to that of pristine beauty and serene quite. You no longer can see the houses and boats and buildings that dot the landscape. The light pollution is minimized to distant towers and the occasional boat dock with some type of lighting, including those that have taken to placing colored lights under the water.
All the while, gliding down this now peaceful location, you are greeted with the sounds of disturbed herons. Those of you that are familiar with this know that it is almost like a dog barking. They are so easily disturbed and very quick to let you know how perturbed they are. As you glide amongst the dock pylons you come across the Pelicans roosting on the tops of poles, heads turned backwards, tucked into their thick plumage. Dotting across the darkness you find a few bats out searching for early morning (or late??) meals. If you aren't careful you are likely to paddle right on top of those cool little birds, whose names I have never figured out, that float out at sea in large groups, apparently sleeping this way.
So, you have a few more days of this amazing moon. I encourage you to grab your paddle and your Yak and get out there by yourself or with friends and enjoy the amazing peace and serenity to be found gliding on the water under a full moon.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010 at 8:01AM Wow, has thia been a crazy start to the trip. Rain, wind, more wind, huge swell, breaking surf.... And I thought FL would be the easy part. It has been slow goiing the past 16 days, but I hope to get the first batch of images up shortly. The weather has put a kink in my power management strategy, so I need.to make some adjustments and then updates should become more frequent.
My good friend Daniel Fox as just started out on the next leg of his Wild Image Project. if you get the time stop by his site and check out his work. Daniel's images are simply stunning!
Friday, February 12, 2010 at 5:04AM Since I first began this trip I have been thinking about the concept of a challenge. One from me to you and vice versa. You see, I am going to get up everyday for the next ten months and do everything I can to paddle to Quebec City. Now for me, that is a huge undertaking and will represent a significant personal accomplishment, but it is not my goal.
Paddling to Canada is just the vehicle for achieving my goals, it is not the actual goal. For me, the goal is awareness and education about our waters. It is about being good stewards of our resources in a balanced way. Creating policy that recognizes the economic reality of those that live on the water or that make their livelihood through the water in a way that balances with the needs of the resources themselves. Yes, that is right, the needs of the resources are a vital part of the equation.
Not only would I like to impart this message to adults, but perhaps even more importantly, to our children. It seems like every generation states the same thing, but if we are able to make a shift in our children and their sense of stewardship versus ownership then we have done good.
So, my challenge to you: What are you going to do for the next ten months that will enrich your life and the lives of others. My challenge is for you to match me on some level. It could be some thing you do in general over ten months, it could be something that you do every day for ten months, I wont even go to something that matches my number of paddle strokes, but i am sure you get the point.
So, if you accept the challenge, and I hope you do, come back here, tell us all what it is, and then update us on your progress. I & we, will be your cheering section. Imagine the good we could do if even half the people that visit this site took the challenge.
To sweeten the pot, I will have an independent group judge a MVP challenger at the end of the trip and award them a limited edition print, numbered and signed.
Will you take the challenge?
Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 9:58AM I am so excited to announce that we are officially up and running with the Wilderness Classroom, www.wildernessclassroom.org. I encourage you to visit their site, especially if you are an educational institution interested in educating children about the wilderness.
For the Atlantic Odyssey, I will be one of their expeditions that children from across the country can follow along with and interact with me and my travels. I will be posting updates, creating videos and pod casts, and letting the children help guide me and my travels. This is a wonderful organization and I am extremely honored to be associated with them. When you visit their site look under the Expedition Update tab and you will find the Atlantic Odyssey.
Visit them at http://www.wildernessclassroom.org
Friday, February 5, 2010 at 9:25AM I am now five days into the trip and am feeling the effects of paddling a fully loaded kayak 6-8 hours a day. When I planned my departure from Key West I had visions of sunny days in the 60's and 70's with flat seas. The reality of things could not have been more different.
The weather has been all over the map. Tons of rain the first couple of days and now high winds with lousy seas. The few times it has cleared up the sunrise and sunsets have been spectacular. It is as if Mother Nature is either giving you false hope in the morning or a congratulation smile in the evening.
The people along the way have been both curious and kind. I had never paddled these waters so I must admit I had a different set of expectations. I wrongly expected a more wilderness setting, whereas the reality is that most of the shoreline has been developed. This has caused me to hunt for campsites and put my bivy into good use. The water is however, very beautiful with the contrast of dark skies and brightly colored shallows that stretch off into the distance.
I head north tomorrow after a day of rest. Before you know it I will have exited the keys and the beautiful turquoise water for the urban sprawl of Miami and the Atlantic. The Atlantic Odyssey has begun.
Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 11:37AM 
So, I am here, sitting in lovely Key West, slightly stressing over all the last minute details. Excited on one hand, anxious on the other. How can't I be but a little bit stressed, I am heading off with a destination that is more than 3700 miles away!! Wow, when I say that, it gets the heart rate going. I know once I am on the water, all will be good. Then, it is one stroke at a time, one day at a time, building my history as I progress.
The weather is mixed, with winds out of the South switching to the North, somewhere around 15 knots with rain in the forecast. Either way, it will be great to get started. A special thanks to all my Starbucks family that made me feel so comfortable and loved over the last several months. I will miss all of you and think of you often.
Let the journey begin.
Atlantic Odyssey in One Ocean Project, Ramblings Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 3:29PM Today, while I was doing a presentation to a group of middle and high school aged children at the Winterberry Christian Academy on Marco Island, I was asked at the end by a student what I hoped to accomplish. He mentioned things like carbon footprints and a few other assorted items. After pointing out that my carbon footprint was pretty small, I did my best to answer the question. However, as the day progressed I kept going over and over the question and the myriad of answers that I could have provided. All of them would have been valid and important to me, but I had this nagging feeling that the answer was something else; that there was an answer that really went strait to the essence of what I was doing.
That is when it hit me. Beyond the personal side of my trip, the answer to the question was the question itself. You see, it is one of those really simple and yet profound answers and it was looking me right in the face. The answer is simply that I want the opportunity to be in front of kids, just like the one today, and have them ask me that question. So simple, so elegant, you see, you can preach all you want in life about this and that, but your odds of being heard are slim. You compete with all the other noise going on in the world, and especially in the world of today's youth. Videos, TV, Cell Phones, Texting, Email, the Web, etc., the list goes on and on.
But, and here is the beauty, if you can get a child to ask you a question, you have them. You might not have them for long, but you have them. You have engaged them, and caused them to think about things; caused them to use that brain and formulate a question; to actually listen to you before they ask the question and especially afterwards. So it is really that simple. Getting kids, and adults, to ask the question, allows me a brief moment in time to tell them what I am doing and what I think is important. It is then up to each person to choose if it is relevant to their lives and what, if anything they are then going to do with what they just heard.
I talk a great deal these days about simplicity, and this is just another wonderful example of the absolute beauty of simplicity. So, next time you want to be heard, find a way to have the question asked. You just might find that people then listen to what you have to say.
The Odyssey begins in 4 days, what is your question?
Saturday, January 23, 2010 at 6:30AM I want to take a moment to thank the staff and administrators at the Seacrest Country Day school for allowing me to come by yesterday and speak with their wonderful students. I was so very impressed with the school, their facilities, and especially the students. It was so nice to meet such fine young adults that could articulate their questions and concerns. I hope that my slide show and talk about the Pacific Northwest and South East Alaska can inspire them to get involved and to make a difference. It was a wonderful event and I look forward to staying in touch with them throughout the Atlantic Odyssey and into the future.
If your school or organization is interested in scheduling a presentation and talk, please use the contact link on the navigation bar to get in touch with us. We will be doing presentations all along the Atlantic seaboard as the Atlantic Odyssey moves northward.