No matter what you are going through it will get better. The old saying of you have to go through the storm to see a rainbow was the case for me today. Literally and figuratively. Once I got on the water I couldn't have been in a worse spot. I take that back. I could be sitting at a desk making phone calls waiting for 5 o'clock. But the way things were going this morning I would have taken that in a heartbeat. Mentally I was beat. Physically I was beat. My boat wouldn't move and my mind was just shot. I wanted nothing to do with it. I could see a storm coming and I knew I had 9 miles to the next town. If I could make it there I could post up in a dinner eating a hot meal dry. The only problem was no matter how hard I paddled I wasn't going faster. The wind shifted and the water got choppy. When it started drizzling my attitude surprisingly started changing. I accepted that I was going to get wet and that was part of the journey. When I started hearing the angels bowling from both the Indiana and Kentucky side of the river I kind of enjoyed the rush. All of the sudden the angels must have put the bumper guards up on the lanes because they were getting strike after strike. The lightning was coming down on all sides. Still kind of cool. I used the latest technology to track how far off the lightning was. Lightning, 1 Mississippi 2 Mississippi ... thunder. It was about 10 miles out so I should be good. The rain was dumping by this point. The count got shorter and shorter and the lightning and thunder louder and louder. I figure I'm in a plastic boat what's the worst that can happen? When I noticed the strikes were literally in front of the mountains and hitting the side of the river I decided that I probably should get to shelter. One more lightning bolt and my boat surprisingly started moving a lot faster than ever before. I pointed the nose for a dock and dropped the hammer. I saw the basement door open and when I got close yelled and asked if I could get under the porch. The guy told me to get up there. I tied up my boat and scrambled up the bank under the porch. He said he saw me coming and wouldn't repeat what he thought. Oh I knew. I thought the same thing. The storm slowed down and I decided to push on. I couldn't have found a better place to seek refuge. After the storm the water was calm. The sky had that eerie feeling but I continued on to Warsaw, KY and found a restaurant to get a hot meal. I was debating on getting a hotel room because I got back in my head and wasn't motivated. While wrapping up my lunch I did something that I had been putting off for a while. I finally posted my website on social media. The fear of putting it out there about what I have been through and why I am doing what I am doing was challenging. But the support I gotten already reminds me why I am doing what I am doing. Not only for myself but for other. Showing that there is a better life out there, you just have to ask for help. And that's one of the hardest parts. I should have shut my phone off because the notifications came flying in. I got back in my boat and started paddling down river. I had to put my phone up for 2 reasons. 1. I couldn't keep up with all the likes and responses. 2. I was entering a lock. I radioed the lock master and he said just ring the bell when you get up close. Bell AKA a giant fog horn. The gates opened and I paddled in. Tied off and the back gate closed. When the water started dropping the floating pin I was tied to didn't move. I freaked. I didn't want to lose my rope. It's a nice piece of rope. If finally started move. This lock made some interesting noises. Lots of creaking. I got a good chuckle and I thought about it. The first gate opens, you go in, it closes, the other opens and you go out. Kind of reminded me of Jurassic Park. Just kidding. It reminded me of prison. After I dropped down about 50 feet and paddled out of the chamber it was flat water. The sun was setting and couldn't be more peaceful. I found a campground and walked up the hill and asked the guy if I could camp. He said no problem. Asked if I had a tent to stay dry, asked if I needed food. Told him I was all good. When I went back to the river to get my bags I noticed the sky was amazing. And when I looked across the river, sure enough there was a small rainbow trying to poke through the clouds. When life is pouring down on you it's ok to ask for help to get out of the rain but you got to get back on the water and keep paddling if you want to see that rainbow.