The brothers, Bubba and Joe, set out on their second great adventure on Wednesday, October 25. It was a cool morning and beautiful as the two adventurers met at the Chipola River bridge on Highway 20. Their last trip had been so much fun that they could hardly wait to continue onward down the river. They left Joe's truck there and went on to the Peacock Bridge on Chipola River to launch their kayaks.
It's 8:30 AM and Bubba can hardly wait to get going.
Their journey started out much like their first outing. It was peaceful going downstream enjoying the sights and sounds of the Chipola.
About every two hours, they would take a break and get out to stretch their legs and rest a little.
Then it started to dawn on Bubba that just possibly his younger brother was a foolhardy daredevil as they passed a cave and Joe kept trying to get Bubba to go in and look around. Thankfully, Bubba had too much sense to oblige him.
They passed an old man fishing and divers preparing for a future cave dive. Then they came to a place known as "Look and Tremble".
Bubba is looking and possibly trembling in this picture.
Brother Joe says "I think I can make it." He told Bubba it was "easy". Then he proceeded to show Bubba how to do it.
In fact, it was so "easy" that Joe did it with his feet in the air. Thankfully he had on his life jacket, but it scared Bubba as he ran down the bank trying to find Joe fearing that he had been hurt.
Joe climbed out with a defeated expression on his face. He lost his cap, his water bottle, and his dignity. In fact Bubba said he looked like a "wet rat".
Bubba sat on a rock, ate his lunch, laughed at Joe, and then carried his kayak around "Look and Tremble."
Joe smiles as he tells Bubba that he is going to give it another try. He made it the second time, but Bubba wasn't too impressed.
They continued their trip enjoying the clear water, sandy bottom, and the limestone cliffs. After another three hours around 3:00 PM, Joe's GPS reading indicated that they were still five miles from their destination. They had already traveled thirteen miles. They were both tired and were running out of daylight. Joe's trials with "Look and Tremble" had exhausted him.
Then they decided their fastest way out would be to call Search and Rescue in the form of youngest brother, Tim, to help them out. Of course, Tim responded. After all, this was not the first time he had to take care of his brothers.
Joe gets in the boat with Tim and then Tim tows both kayaks back to the landing.
Look at the smile on Tim's face. He is already thinking about how much fun he will have telling about this "Search and Rescue" at the family Christmas gathering.
Tim tows them back the last five miles. Bubba relaxes and enjoys the ride.
By the way, Tim says that he does not want a kayak.
We're going camping again soon. Brother Joe wants them to kayak down the Pea River in Alabama. Brother Tim warns Bubba about a waterfall that Joe let him go over one time on that same river. I'm thinking Bubba and Joe have different ideologies about the sport of kayaking. I think Bubba has a peaceful, non-eventful trip in his mind while Joe envisions more and more challenges with the thrill of adventure. I'm hoping sister-in-law Judy will help me straighten them out on the fact that they are not spring chickens and have to be careful and safe.
Note: Bubba could hardly wait for me to write the blog about his trip. He said that Joe took pictures of everything because it would be good for the blog. Now he is telling me what to write and I can hardly type fast enough to keep up. I'm thinking that they may need to start a Kayaking Brothers blog soon.
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