So...what would the next paddling adventure be now that I owned my own vessel? My husband, Steve, and I decided that we'd like to watch the sunrise from our kayaks. We picked a Saturday morning and a waterway access along A1A. A third grade student's dad from Mayport Elementary Coastal Sciences Academy suggested that I try kayaking closer to the Mayport ferry at the Little Jetties, now known as the Helen Cooper Floyd Park. He showed me some breathtaking pictures that he and his wife had taken from the shoreline while fishing there one evening at sunset. It seemed the perfect choice for a novice kayaker. You can get a glimpse of the beauty in the picture I took of Steve just as the sun was peeking above the horizon:

My first kayaking adventures were launched with a May 2013 birthday gift from Sean and Hana - my very own Perception Swifty 9.5'! I chose to paddle around the pristine Dutton Island Preserve in Atlantic Beach, Florida since it is close to home and is part of the Jacksonville Intracoastal Salt Marsh Paddling Guide. The paddling guide provided a clear navigational map between access points along the Intracoastal Waterway and there are clearly marked guideposts so that the novice paddler doesn't get lost in the marshes or stranded amongst the oyster beds at low tide. It is also part of a preservation project spearheaded by former Mayor John Delaney who was an early pioneer of environmental stewardship in Jacksonville politics. The paddling guide is a must-have for the novice kayaker of the Intracoastal Waterway and can be downloaded and printed for free. A picture montage of the maiden voyage(s) from Dutton Island Preserve with paddling pals Sean, my husband Steve, and Hana is included here as well as a must-see video tip guide for the first-time paddler of these waters. Happy paddling!

My first post as a novice kayaker is also a novice attempt to use an avatar to introduce this blog...until I can figure out how to publish my Voki avatar as a gadget on my sidebar, the link will have to do!