yup. an injury rest break. cant believe we are taking one. i guess it was inevitable though at some point in the expedition. hopefully we will be back on the water soon and feeling more fit than ever.

When we left Wareham it was a nice paddle. Buzzards Bay gave us a little fight but it calmed down and let us pass. Winds were at our back for most of the day and we made it to our destination, Wilbur Point, without much struggle. Joanne picked us up and took us to her home in Fairhaven and let us completely relax and watch the re-run of the series premire of Jon and Kate +8. (o my)!!! (yes, we do keep up with whats happening in the world to some extent) We slept well and were back on the water the next morning early and ready to go… or so we thought.

The wind was at our backs again as we paddled across the chanel for New Bedford. Instead of the 10-15 knot wind they predicted however, it was more like 15-20, which is a big difference in a kayak. Following seas of that size keep you concentrated and paddling aggressivly. About halfway across the waterway, my trapezius muscles started in on me again. I have been struggling with them ever since Wells, Maine and this day was the worst by far. I didn’t think i was going to be able to make it across without a tow. The pain was intense and not letting up. We changed course and headed in to Dartmouth, paddling only 2 hours that day. We didn’t make it to our destination for our meet-up with Mike of Osprey Sea Kayak Adventures. Thankfully, Mike rocks, and came to pick us up at the snooty yacht club there. Praise God for these people at Osprey Sea Kayak Adventures. Honestly. As soon as Mike took us back to the shop, they got right down to business. Robbie started in on fixing Dan’s skeg. Carl grabbed my drysuit and replaced the neck gasket that i had torn 2 days before, and Mike got right on the phone finding us a place to stay for the night and a massage therapist for me. It was a “God Hug” for sure, atleast thats what i call it.

We hug out there with them for a while, had some good food and then Mike took us to the grocery store and to our campground. Beautiful thing. We got in the tent and called our families. MISS THEM A LOT! Then we went to sleep, with a massage appointment in the morning to dream about.

Slept great. Woke up early. Cooked a fab breakfast for camping i must say. Bacon, Egg, cheese bagels. yes. living in luxury. Mike was there to pick us up and take us to the home of Lora Casey, the massage therapist. She took me in her home. Made me completely comfortable. . . and got down to business. It was incredible. I dont know if I could have asked for anything better. She worked all the knots and tension she could find out of my muscles and basically let me know what the problem was and how to fix it. Absolutely invaluable.

Here’s the scoop on my back: In wells maine, i carred one of our mesh duffel bags for about a mile, walking back to our boats to paddle onward. It was heavy heavy heavy and hurt to carry on my shoulder. I thought i was just weak and pushed though, but i was actually tearing my trap muscles all up. Not good. Since then, i havent rested them, paddling almost every day for 2.5 weeks, with the occasional short break. I never let my muscles heal. They have been angry at me the whole time. Ouch.

Lora hooked us up with info and kindness and we had the tools we needed to really heal me up hopefully. My prescription was heat, ice, REST, and streching with an occasinoal bath soak. Sounds pretty freakin good to me since ive been going going going for almost a month now. The only problem now is finding a comfortable place to stay for a while. In comes Papa to the rescue. We get an email from my grandpa, “Papa,” offering to pay for a place for us to stay for up to a week. Another “God Hug,” of which i am losing count. Mike took us to a hotel and thats where we sit, healing. Its pretty much wonderful. Ive got a heat pack on my back right now and hopefully with your prayers and our patience, we will healthy when we get back on the water.

Pray for some waves too. Mike and the crew offered to take Dan surfing anytime while we are here if the waves are good. That would make him so happy. It would give him a break from nursing me too 😉

Thanks for all the encouraging words everyone…