Finally Made It to Munyon Island

On our third trip we finally made it to Munyon Island in John D. MacArthur State Park. Perfect weather and great water conditions.

And James, my brother, made it with us - his first kayaking trip. (Check out this totally unrelated video James made - the music is his own - performed and produced - and he used public domain footage for the visuals.)

We went approached the island as we have in the past, saw a group of at least two manatees on the way out. We went around the north side and then entered the man made mangrove trail. Found a little place to "park" the 'yaks next to the walkway that connects the picnic pavilions. We hit the beach on the west side. It sits right across the water (intracoastal/Lake Worth lagoon) from a bunch of mansions in what I think is Riviera Beach. We sat there for a couple of hours watching the yachts and fishing boats go by. Owen had fun playing in the water, especially when the boats kicked up some waves.

After returning to shore, we made our way to the Dune Dog Cafe in Jupiter - our favorite post kayaking trip spot.

Loxahatchee Swamp Crawl

Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge – this is not the river run we love. This is slog through a canoe trail off one of the interminable canals that run through the ‘glades. Lots of gators and bugs. I say slog because it was hot and sunny and the canoe trail was full of lily pads and water plants. We got stuck good once. And the rest of the time was hard going. It’s hard to paddle when you keep hitting huge root balls and plant stalks. We did the 5.5 miles in about 2 ½ hours. The rangers said, “Don’t worry ‘bout the gators.” But why didn’t they mention the plant-infested canoe trail? Still fun but we won’t be going back.

John D. McArthur part 2

We headed back to find Munyon Island… and found it. A relatively quick paddle brought us to a sandbar/beach on the northwest side. But then a swiftly rolling thunderstorm found us. So we hightailed it back to the launch. We made it as far as the bridge when the rain came pouring down and lightening came (not too close – but still). We chilled under the bridge for about an hour until it died down.

By the way, this was my mother-in-law’s first time kayaking ever. She did have fun. (Side note: the first time my wife and I took her camping – to the beautiful on the water Big Pine Key Fishing Lodge in the Florida Keys – we found ourselves in near tropical storm force winds the entire weekend. So we have quite a record when it comes to taking her on “adventures.”)

On the way we did see a group of two or three manatees poking their snouts out of the water for air. Awesome.

John D. MacArthur Beach State Park

After a several month drought, we finally made it out on the water last weekend. John D. MacArthur Beach State Park is in North Palm Beach, about 45 minutes from our house. Sits right on the Lake Worth Lagoon. Put in is right next to the parking lot, so getting out on the water is very pain-free.

Great sheltered mangrove area at the start. You head north out of the cove, under the bridge (lots of folks fishing) and then out into the Lagoon proper. Apparently we missed the main attraction: Munyon Island. It's accessible by boat only, with a beautiful beach and mangrove canoe/kayak trails. Sun was high in the sky. But the sea breeze kept the temp comfortable.

Cool thing was we got to try out our new kayak. It's an inflatable from Advanced Elements called the Advanced Frame. It's high-quality and a great boat. Very maneuverable. Solid. Light. Easy to set up and fits in a bag you could check on the plane. It's coming with us on our next beach vacation for sure. Here's what it looks like:



We're heading out to John D. this weekend. This time we'll make Munyon. Apparently you have to watch the tides though. Stay tuned.

Wekiva River... maybe

Making a trip up to Orlando this weekend for Memorial Day, staying with the folks. SeaWorld Saturday. Planned to take the Wekiva River Kings Landing to Wekiva Marina run on Sunday. About a 5 hour trip. Been several years since we did it. And never in a kayak, always a canoe.

Looking forward to it. And recent heavy rains would probably have made things very interesting.

But it might be a no go. Thunderstorms forecast all weekend. Don't want to get stuck out there in a storm.

Stay tuned for updates.

Lovers Key and Sanibel... Again

It was double paddling for the Holland family over the weekend. A quick visit to Liz's dad's place in Fort Myers gave us plenty of places to choose from... the Fort Myers - Naples - Marco Island area is full of trails, launch spots, etc. Here's a complete rundown: The Great Calusa Blueway.

We did the canoe/kayak trail in Lovers Key State Park on Saturday. About two hours on the water, mostly made up of very wide channel through mangroves. Owen didn't have the endurance to make the whole 7-mile rountrip. But we did make it to Estero Bay - too much powerboat traffic to stay too long. And saw a lot of herons, jumping mullet, and crabs clinging to the mangroves.

The next day we went back to Sanibel, J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge to be exact. We went back to the outfitter (Tarpon Bay Outfitters I think they're called) that we used to rent canoes and kayaks from, before we got our own. They did charge us $7 to put in. We did the Commodore Creek trail, which winds us through mangroves and small lagoons for about two hours, for I think the 5th time. But it's still fun, you can see a lot of fish in the clear water: mullet, sheepshead, was a that a catfish?, etc. This time we saw a raccoon and tons of ospreys diving in for a fresh catch.



Owen (in the Mickey Mouse ears straw hat above with Liz in front in Tarpon Bay) loves to see all the animals, although it did get quite hot when we weren't in the shaded spots... and he let us know it.

Summer's coming up and it's going to get HOTTER. So don't know how long Owen will be able to continue to join us on the water. Another note: don't forget to put sunscreen on your legs... somehow I didn't think that off that... and have the burns to help me remember next time.

Sanibel and Captiva

On the southwest coast lies to barrier islands that, although filled with small hotels and big resorts, have minimal development and most land is given over to natural areas.

And it's great paddling, whether you like mangrove tunnels, the open ocean, or protected bays. Lots of backwater fishing too. Most trips are kid-friendly, but watch those tides. You can be left stranded in inches of water in some areas.

Here's a great site, with information on a variety of trips and outfitters in the area:

www.clubkayak.com/cfkt/trips/sanibel_island.html