Jan. 1:

The New Year came while I slept, oblivious to the threat of terrorists and what I hoped would not happen.  I awoke rested and ready to go. Then I looked out to see dense fog on the water.  So I sat down to write about yesterday and two hours went by very quickly.  I looked out again and saw that it had cleared and the wind was blowing just the direction we planned to row.  Somehow time slipped by and we did not leave for the launch site until noon.  Winds had picked up to the point where there were some white caps showing and I worried that the five to six mile sweep of water along our course might allow the waves to build high enough to give us trouble.  I figured we would start out and look carefully ahead to see if this might be happening.  Of course the point of no return passed soon and we were committed to making it down the five-mile reach and then southward for another few miles to the park in Titusville we had seen. My anxiety subsided quickly as I saw the distance rush by.  We had gone about five miles within an hour in spite of eating a lunch of carrots, Triscuits and cheese while rowing.  The waves came from behind and allowed a little surfing as the boat charged ahead on each stroke.

At about seven miles we passed under a railroad bridge over which NASA’s equipment is brought into the space center.  The large drawbridge span was raised where it stays until a train comes. It had made an excellent navigation marker to steer toward.  I could imagine seeing a rocket engine or space shuttle being brought across this bridge. The NASA silos loomed high on the horizon about five miles away on the port side.

We slid under the bridge and turned an immediate left to rest in the calm shelter of the point that came out to meet the bridge.  All of a sudden we were sitting in flat water with no wind where I could lay down and rest for a while.  I had rowed for about an hour and three quarters with hardly a stop.  I checked for blisters but saw only a few places that were a bit sore.  After half an hour resting we started across the home stretch to the beach at the Veterans Memorial park on Max Brewer highway.  This two-mile stretch seemed easy as it ended quickly. What I had judged might take four hours took only three but my hands were starting to feel a bit like blisters were coming and I was glad to stop.  A 9.3-mile day for the second day was about right.  I looked down the waterway to the next bridge that was about seven miles away.  Tomorrow we will pass that one too!

I stood by the road trying to look presentable and holding out my thumb but no one made eye contact much less slowed down for about fifteen minutes.  So I walked over to some boys who were parked and standing around their pick ups and asked if any of them would like to earn some money by taking me to my car.  Nearly all said they didn’t have enough gas but one asked “How much?”  Knowing I could not expect change, I said $20.00.  The one sitting in his truck immediately said, “I’ll take it!”  So I got in his truck and he drove to a filling station across the bridge where he spent the $20.00 to fill his tank. Then he drove me to the Haulover canal boat ramp where I had left the car.  Our conversation was limited to what fish were not biting.  He could not understand why I would row away in a boat and leave my car behind.  I started to think about that.

I thought of several reasons.  Of course, the first was that I was having a great deal of fun getting much needed exercise and doing something I love to do.  I was in training again and feeling good already.  The fact that Heather was there stoking me with Triscuits and cheese and telling me where we were and how fast we were going was an awesome bonus.  I hear too many men talk about getting away for hunting or fishing trips without their wives as if this was a treat.  For me it is a tremendous treat to have her there facing me in the stern sharing my enjoyment and loving it.

A second reason, of course, is that we are warming up to do a fundraising row for Habitat for Humanity starting in Melbourne about thirty miles south of where we are.  Having a purpose for having fun seems like double dipping.  We look forward to meeting people and talking about their cause and TOTO’s donation to help them.  I feel honored to be the one to spread the news of this contribution to their affiliates. I also look forward to the opportunity to share my interest in water efficiency and “Green” building with them.