Instead of making a mad dash for Florida from North Carolina like I had planned, I decided to see for myself what the weather was going to be like along the coast. With that thought in mind I continued eastward from the Smoky Mountains all the way to the North Carolina Outer Banks.
The Outer Banks are part of the barrier islands that stretch from Virginia, most of the way down the North Carolina coast, and include Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout, which are also part of the National Sea Shore system. They have a milder mean temperature because of the bays and rivers on the mainland side and the Atlantic and the Gulf Stream on the ocean side. The Outer Banks have, on average, 13 fewer days below freezing than Tallahassee, Florida.
I finally got the boat wet in Kitty Hawk, NC where the Wright brothers flew the first airplane. Nothing spectacular, but I put in a couple of hours on Kitty Hawk Bay. Most of the shoreline and islands in this area are marsh grass. The flatness and the sameness of the area take some getting used to. The winds stayed in the 30+ knot range while I was on the islands so I didn't get in much sea kayaking.
Instead, I walked the beaches and started a seashell collection, did a little surf fishing and caught what you'd expect (nothing), did a lot of the self guided nature walks, saw my first real life pelicans and my first dwarf palmetto bush. Hey, we're in the tropics now. But it's cold and windy and I'm not having a real good time.
The area has many, many surf fishermen. I say fishermen because I haven't seen or noticed any women crazy enough to stand out there in heavy winds with 3-4 long poles stuck in the ground, with layer after layer of clothing piled on and still hopping around to keep warm.
These are some serious people. They all drive either pickup trucks or SUVs, some brand spankin' new and some not so new. They all have these custom made chrome rod racks on the front or back bumper and some have both. These rod holders have little platforms for coolers and other gear. The number of rods these things hold ranges from 4 to 12 and they all seem full. And there's a lot of them down here. Cape Hatteras is one of the best surf fishing areas on the east coast.
Jockey's Ridge State Park (don't ask where the name came from) was established for these huge set of sand dunes. DeLorme's says there's one 140 feet tall but the brochures only claim 100 feet. I didn't see that one but saw some I thought were 40-50 feet tall (but must have been the 100 foot one) and maybe 100 yards long forming a basin. I shot a couple of pictures and did their nice nature trail.
I finally gave up on the Outer Banks and aimed the truck at Cedar Island just off the mainland. To get to this island, which is really only separated from the mainland by a river, I had to drive 20+ miles through a National Wildlife Management Area of, you guessed it, marsh grass, mile after mile after mile. The campground should have been closed but they weren't. They had no electricity, no water and no toilets open. And I got a good taste of what the Everglades might be like with 30-40 mosquitoes swarming around my head most of the time.
A monsoon helped me on my way the second day and I didn't stop until I hit Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston is an interesting city with an aircraft carrier serving as a museum with 6 different tours (follow the arrows) throughout. The next day I found a put in and paddled over for a view of the aircraft carrier from the water. Pretty impressive looking up 5-6 stories to the flight deck.
The Battery area of Charleston is full mansions and block after block of townhouses from the 1800's, most of which have been restored and most of which are being lived in. Fort Sumter, where the Civil War started is at the mouth of Charleston Harbor. Plus there are several old plantations in the immediate area.
I was having a good time in Charleston and was planning on spending Christmas there until another cold front moved in and I moved out. I got down to Savannah, Georgia but the forecast was still for nights in the 20's for the next several days so I continued on to Brunswick, about 20 miles north of the Florida border, and more freezing weather.
Cumberland Island is part of the National Sea Shore system and lies just off the Georgia coast and just north of the Florida border. I was going to paddle out to it on Christmas day but the tides were against me, the temperatures were in the low 50's and weren't helped any by a 15-20 knot wind. The day before a local fisherman was telling me about the 'gators on the island. All these things made me think better of going out there on this day.
The Okefenokee Swamp is about 60 miles from Brunswick and I drove out there instead, hoping I could get some paddling in, alligators or no. It never occurred to me a National Park would be closed, even on Christmas Day but it was and I spent the rest of the morning driving around trying to find a way in. I did see an interesting sign near the park entrance: Alligator Crossing Next 3 Miles. Oops! It may have been a good thing for me they were closed.
I wanted to hang out in Georgia, get some paddling in and move into Florida on New Year's day. Christmas night in the 20's changed my mind about that and I gave up the land of peaches & pecans for the land of oranges a little early.
My health has been excellent considering the cold temperatures and wettings I've experienced the past two months. I don't run around nekid (much) and generally try to take care of myself. I wear a hat almost all the time, including a knit cap to bed. I think that has had a great deal to do with it. The other thing that I think is of some importance, is taking a zinc supplement anytime I feel a sneeze coming on or feel the slightest of stuffy noses.
01/4/00:
I've been in Florida since the day after Christmas and right now am in Daytona Beach a couple of miles from the race track. The temperature, ha ha, has been in the 80's, ha, ha, ha. A cold spell is moving in though and the temperatures are going to plummet into the low 70's. AHAHAHAHAHA!
No freezing rain, no snow, no sleet, no slush. Just sunny skies (mostly), warm temperatures (mostly), just sea kayaking along palm tree lined shores, cavorting with the dolphins with pelicans, egrets, herons, etc. flying overhead.
Trip reports have been updated on the web site, photographs are being developed, central Florida Trip Summary in a few weeks. AHAHAHAHAHA! ROFLMAO!