I woke up on my deserted island to realize that it wasn’t as deserted as I thought. When I looked out of my tent I saw 2 people walking down the beach just a few feet from my tent. It took me a while to figure out where the people came from. I noticed a boat anchored off shore a ways down. It was definitely a confusing moment but it wouldn’t be the last for the day. I got moving as I had made plans to meet up with an angel who is the 5th person to complete the entire paddle around Florida. It was a beautiful day to paddle. I cruised on the inland side of a chain of islands. The water was clear all day and I could see fish darting around under my boat. The sun was blazing and hitting the water just right that it looked like I was paddling on a reflective sea of shinny liquid silver. I made it to the tiki bar that was on a causeway. As I sat there I felt like I was at a tropical resort. They had island music playing and kayakers were paddling around in the beautiful water bay. At one point a hobie Cat sail boat went by. I waited for a while and decided to order some food while I waited. I knew there was a possibility that the people I was meeting might not make it so I ordered another round of tacos. The waitress suggested that the quesadilla was good. I said sure. Bring them both. We got talking later and she said the kitchen guys thought I was going to just sit there all day and order food. I explained that I had worked up an appetite in the 2,600 Miles it took to get there. My new paddling friends showed up and we got to business talking adventure. In casual talk he and his wife said they had done the Appalachian Trail. Then he started rattling off the other big trips he had done and I was impressed. When he said his next one was only 600 miles I felt comfortable. Most people can’t imagine doing 600 miles but after a few trips over 2000 it’s nice to talk to other people who think the same way. We talked until the sun set, then I paddled off into the sunset a mile to an island camp ground. I quickly set up and called into the board meeting for the Seraph Fund. It’s always good to see the progress that we are making. As I was laying here I could hear the waves start crashing on the shore different than usual. The normal night sounds were off. I figured it might be a trash panda in my boat or something. I shined my head lamp over towards my boat by the water, and a light shined back from out in the water. I was confused again. I figured it was a fisherman a ways off. The noise of the waves kept getting closer. And the light would turn on and off. When I noticed it was really close I got out to investigate. I walked to the waters edge and saw it was a guy on a paddle board. Well he was standing in the water next to it peeing. I said hello and said it was a nice night for a paddle. He agreeed and asked if I wanted a beer. I had just sat at tiki bar by the water for almost 4 hours and didn’t drink. And now I’m in an island alone at 11PM and a guy comes out of the dark and offers me a beer. I said I was good and he proceeded to tell me he had plenty. I politely told him that’s ok. Then we had a good talk for a while never actually being able to see each other. I finally cut the conversation off and he paddled back into the dark. I went back to to my tent thinking about how confusing it was that just when I went to bed thinking I was the only person on the island, random people just showed up.
