Hopefully we can update this page often with thank you and shout-outs to those who give us a helping hand with this trip. We need all the help we can get right?

Last updated on December 14, 2009

152. Thank you to out families for coming to see us arrive and also for getting us and our boats back home. It was very very important to us to have you there. Thank you.

151. Alice and Chris. Thanks for the conversation and encouragement. It was so sweet to see you at the Bouy.

150. Everyone at Geiger Key Marina RV Park. It was the absolute perfect place to spend our last night on the trail.

149. Bill from Big Pine Kayak for finding a place for us to sleep, storing our kayaks, and giving us some good info on the last leg of our kayak trip.

148. Christy from Portland for offering us to stay in her family’s vacation home in Marathon.

147. Frank and Monica of Florida Bay Outfitters. We heard about you two alllll the way down the coast of Florida and we’re glad we followed all the recommendations and spent some time with you.  It was a perfect place to rest and meet some fun kayakers who work at your shop. Monica, thank you for coming to see us land at the bouy and bringing your friend along too.

146. Rainer and Catherine on the Pearlita. You two are a blessing and we are honored to have spent time with you. We LOVE our coconut and think it was incredibly thoughtful and beautiful. Please stop by and see us when you come back up! We will be waiting.

145. Anna-Marie of South Beach Kayak. We had a blast in South Beach. Tell Keenan thanks for the driving tour. We loved meeting you and spending time with you and enjoying your positive energy! Keep doing what youre doing.

144. Jamie, Jacqueline, and your family for having us for Thanksgiving. It was so sweet and tasty. Your family is precious and you will always hold a special place in our hearts.

143. Blue Moon Outfitters for letting us keep our boats at you shop in Miami. We were so nervouse about keeping our boats in Miami but when we hooked up with you guys, we were relieved. Thanks.

142. Glen and Louise in Ft. Lauderdale. We were so oerwhelemd when we paddle up to the Prime Time and saw the banner you had made for us. It was the most thoughtful welcome we had the whole trip. Lets not even go INTO the place we stayed. Make sure the owner knows we were eternally grateful. God Bless you both.

141.  Ted. P of Coral Gables. You rolled out the red carpet for us. Thank you for bringing us McDonalds on Peanut Island, providing us a place to stay at the Holiday Inn, and for paddling with us. We really enjoyed spending time with you and you completely blew us away with your hospitality.

140. Ted and Karen in Palm Beach. Thank you for all the encouragement and for sharing your kayaking adventures with us. We finally took a rest day at your house and we were thankful we did.

139. Jack, Kevin and Ted for meeting us and paddling with us, AND Jack and for having us into his home AND throwing us a party. We needed it.

138.  Kristen and Mike from Kayaks Etc Thank you for letting us stay with you, calling the paper, cooking us dinner, AND letting us pick your brains about kayak racing.

137. Indian River Outfitters for taking care of our gear situation while in Coco Beach.

136. Matt and Jodi of The Sunshine Expedition . It so amazing to be with people who “get it” and we really want you to know that you have both taken great care of us, as well as encouraged us to perhaps… do another adventure!

135. Mike and Elizabeth of A Day Away kayak tours. Thank you for not giving up on us. Also… Elizabeth, you are an amazing cook even though you opted for the HOT peppers.

134. Chris and Guy in New Smyrna Beach. Thank you for the good dinners and for having us in your home for longer than planned due to Ida and her threats. We are well rested and we were able to plan our next weeks of paddling. It has been extreemly relaxing.

133. Wanda in Palm Coast for taking care of us while we were there. You gave us some good advice that we plan on heeding. It was really nice to talk with you.

132.  Palm Coast Marina for keeping our boats in a very safe place over night. We weren’t worried about them at all.

131. The Penny’s for sponsoring us after just meeting us at Caps. It was overwhelming and humbling.

130.  MARINELAND for offering us 2 complimentary dolphin Immersion experiences. It was literally a dream come true. We hope you understand how important it was to us.

129. Smith and Dolly in Vilano Beach. You took such good care of us. Thank you for all the 5 Star food and the 5 star accommodations. We really really had a blast at your house. Thank you.

128. Camachee Island Marina for storing our kayaks.

127.  Beach Marine in Jacksonville Beach for keeping our boats and giving us a lift to the hotel. YOu guys were really kind and ethusiastic and we love that.

126. Ray and Jody of Kayak Amelia . You two went above and beyond. Not only did you offer to let us camp and store our boats, you picked us up in the morning, you gave us tshirts, you blessed us with phenomenal cookies, and you took us back to the boat ramp so we didnt have to skip any miles. Keep bringing the “Green Lifestyle” to N. Florida. You guys rock.

125. Mark. Thanks for paddling with us and cheering us up after a crummy experience the day before. Thanks for the dinner and the condo too. It was so fun to paddle with you. If you are ever in our area… where ever that may be…. call us and well go paddling again.

124. Michael and the Crew of SouthEast Adventures. We have new dry bags and a fixed hole in a boat. THAT is a big deal. Thank GOD for you people.

123. Everyone we met at the King and Prince Resort on St Simon’s Island. Bud, Colleen, and Rob. You were all wonderful to us and we were humbled by the kindness.

122. Ashton at the Cabin. Thanks for chaseing us down, offering up the cabin for the night, the steak and shrimp, and the conversation. Youre a great person and we are really thankful we met you.

121. Kilkenny Marina for letting us sleep on your property.

120. Danny of Altamaha Coastal Tours. Thanks for all the beta and the Cabin in the marsh…

119. Dale Williams of Tybee Island, GA. You and your family took good care of us and we even got to meet some kayakers during our stay. The Georgia coast is not longer the beast we thought it to be. We can now leave for the coast with good information.

118. Sally and Danny in Bluffton, SC. You took SUCH good care of us and we left well rested and happy. Now dan knows that he can eat rare meat! Yay for that.

117. Matt, Mark, and Sarah of Outside Hilton Head who helped us out in more than one way. Boat storage, beta, AND sweet new water bottles that we love.

116. Nate at the Fripp Island Marina and all of the Fripp Island Patrol guys… as well as the firefighters. We enjoyed a unique night on your island and we felt like we were part of the Elite.

115. All the rangers AND the great campers we met at Edisto Beach State Park . We were beyond pleasantly surprised.

114. Tom of Habitat Crew for driving from your sisters house over an hour to hang out with us. We really had a good time. You are hardcore… we know.

113. Lance and Tracy for taking us in for the weekend. You both rock… really.Tracy Turpen Photography

112. Clyde and the rest of the Brevard College Immersion Group for having us on your trip.

111. Joe and Marianne at the Cape Romain B&B for a complimentary night’s stay and for being our new friends. We really enjoyed staying with you.

110. Reserve Harbor Yacht Club for letting us keep our boats overnight AND for the info about an island in the bay to sleep on. We slept there!

109. The Foy’s. Thank you for letting us stay in your beach house even while you were out for town. We slept very well and the sweet tea was so great on the paddle.

108. Kat. Thanks a bunch for everything you did for us at Pawley’s Island. It was fabulous to meet you and enjoy two meals. Thanks for going out of the way to get me Starbucks too!

107. Stephen and your family. You totally expanded our horizons with all those biker bars. Good times! Thanks for the out of control big yummy breakfast too.

106. William Cox. We don’t know if we’ve thanked you yet but you have been our media guru since the beginning sending out all those spot messages AND fixing our website AND updating it for us since we dont know how to add those videos. You are a great and wongerful genious of a brother. We love you. Here’s his website full of Robot goodness so you can see what a smarty pants he really is: www.gorobotics.net

105. The Kanoy’s…. bless YOU both. Amen.

104. Capt. Charlie and Marianne. Thanks for letting us have your house and sweet convertible for our rest day. We had no idea we had so much to do. We were busy all day.

103. Michael and his family for letting us stay in Holden Beach. It was so thoughtful of you all and like always… we dont know what we would have done without you. Dinner was scrumptious.

102. Bob and Faye on Oak Island. We had no idea 85 yr olds were such good dancers.

101. South Harbor Marina for keeping our boats.

100. (WOW… 100 thank you’s) I’ll give this one to Dan since he deserves a little thank you from me, his wife. Danny, you rock. Thank you for being so patient with me along the way and thank you for tirelessly taking care of me both physically and mentally this whole way. I could NOT have done this without you. Of this i am sure.

99. Ethan in Carolina Beach. Dinner was fab, the rest was even better. Please forgive us for the dent in your truck.

98. Great Outdoor Provision Company again for the help with picking up a new stove.

97. Bonnie and Danielle. Thanks for opening up your “Bed and Breakfast” for us. I highly recommend it to those travelling in the Wilmington area.

96. Bridge Tender Marina for storing our boats.

95. Preston and Martha.. and Queenie and Rascal. You resuced us. That’s the only way to describe it.

94. Lamar at Barrier Island Kayaks for taking good care of us and supplying us with boat fixing materials. (You’ll be unhappy to know I kinked my skeg AGAIN in Wrightsville Beach but thanks to you, we were able to fix it again in Carolina Beach since we had the right tools.)

93. Papa and Grannie for the surprise visit and all the meals.

92. Brenda and Chris of Boats Inc. for keeping our boats, letting us stay at the condo, taking us out to see the races and everything else. We had a really really great time.

91. Ride the Wind Surf Shop for keeping our boats in Ocracoke.

90. Capt. Andy of the Good Times and his daughter for taking us in… and fishin!

89. Papa for sending us deep sea fishing.

88. Rodanthe Watersports and Campground for a free nights stay. Wonderful.

87. The Oregon Inlet Fishing Center for storing our boats.

86. Megan and Larry Keeler for taking us in and feeding us and all the fun talk about the “days of ole”.

85. Grogs Watersports for keeping our boats for us.

84. Nana and Granbobbie for picking us up and dropping us off as we moved down the outer banks towards the trailer. We love you.

83. Dave and Mary in Virginia Beach. You were SO flexible about our very unconcrete plans and took us in for the night with no hesitation. Thank you so much.

82. Martha and Mark in Chesapeake, VA. We were able to sleep well, get up EARLY and get back on the trip thanks to you guys.

81. Our families for having us home for three weeks.

80. The Hale family of the Eastern Shore. Thank you for letting us stay in your most beloved of places. We are honored.

79. Chuck Churn and his wife Tina of R & C Seafood. You fed us like kings, took us where we needed to go, and generally took care of us all the way to Cape Charles. Thank you so much.

78. Bob and Melody Copper, Ro, and Cricket and family, and of course “Spider” Webb. Also… Copper Cricket farm. Let’s just say we could NOT have finished kayaking the eastern shore without ALL of you. We slept amazingly. We ate even more amazingly. And most importantly… we made some good friends.

77. Capt Zeds Bait Tackle & Marina, in Wachapregue, VA for letting us store our kayaks overnight.

76. Our Canadian friends at the Campground on Chincoteague. The brews and conversation were PERFECT at the end of our long days.

75. Ed of Zipper Sport Fishing . You saved us from a VERY long boat tow on assategue island.

74. Cheryl in Ocean City. That was the best crab cake of the trip!

73. Tuckahoe Acres Resort Campground in Dagsboro, DL. Thanks for letting us set up our tent even though you are only a RV Park… and bingo was a blast.

72. Quest Fitness and Kayak for taking good care of us in Lewes, DL.

71. Chris the sailor. You are living a life of adventure and freedom that people only dream of. If we ever have the money to buy you a J46, we will. You were an inspiration and we were truly blessed to meet you. Thanks for the pizza too!

70. Avalon Pointe Marina for letting us stay for the night on your floating dock.

69. Don at Bay Cats for letting us keep our boats there over night AND for fixing bethany’s skeg. thats obviously a big deal.

68. Everybody at surfrider, Steve and also Krissy in particular for letting us stay at your houses with no real warning.

67. Margo Pelligrino for everything. You were so encouraging and so enthusiastic that we didnt want to say goodbye. You took good care of us and still are. You are hard core and we can only wish to be paddlers like you one day. Rock on!

66. Trump Marina and Casino for a free night for our boats. (Mostly we should be thanking #67 for that but what the hay?)

65. Key Harbor Marina where we slept for the night in peace and met some really nice people.

64. The Ocean Gate Yacht Basin for storing our boats.

63. Donna and Tommi. Thanks for so much for taking care of us, picking us up, and teaching us about how to take care of our cells. We slept great and look forward to seeing the changes that you promise are coming to us if we keep drinking this miracle water. O yeah… and thanks for picking us up AGAIN and taking care of us AGAIN another night. Yeah… dont know what we would have done without you guys.

62. McCarthys Marine in Brielle, NJ for letting us keep our boats overnight.

61. The town of Belmar, NJ for opening up their cookouts and fireworks to us…we met the Mayor and enjoyed police assistance in directions and parking for the fireworks show.

60. Shark River Kayak Company in Belmar NJ. Thanks for the sweet wheels and the place to sleep. We loved sleeping on that dock. It was like being rocked to sleep.

59. The marina we stayed with in Highlands, NJ. Really patient with all our calls as to where they were and where we should sleep and where we should eat.

58. Caleb. Thanks for considering being impressed by us and more importantly, thank you SO MUCH For letting us crash in your apartment and for taking us out to dinner in fabulous Hell’s Kitchen. We missed you and it was fun to be with a friend from home. You rock.

57. Great Kills Yacht Club on Staten Island. Thanks for keeping our boats and giving us good directions.

56. NYC Parks for letting us store our boats at Midland Beach.

55. Nathan and RachelAnn in NYC. obviously… thank you for everything.

54. The Long Island Community Boathouse. Thanks for the storage, thanks for the paddling.

53. Tommy, Jimmy, Joe and the rest at the Bronxonia Yacht Club. You perhaps gave us our most real and fun NY experience that we could ever have. Thank you for keeping our boats and brightening our spirits. we will NEVER forget you.

52. Ben and Sandy in Greenwich. You knew we were tired and you took fabulous care of us. Our quest for a dog is getting more educated and more fun. Thanks for almost taking us to target and then fixing the camera so we didnt have too!

51. Bill and Susan in Milford. You were right, the pizza IS amazing.

50. Bud, Leisbeth, Sue and Gus on Money Island in the Thimble Islands. O my GOODNESS your life there is amazing and we are forever thankful for you letting us experience just a taste of that place.

49. The Indian River Marina, Rob and all his friends. We really enjoyed Clinton and your hospitality.

48. The Lawton family, we had so much fun with all of you and you made us miss home.

47. Rick and Nancy. Your home is beautiful. You hospitality is even more than that. Resting here is everything we need.

46. The  Three Belles Marina for letting us store our boats.

45. Shannon and Paul in Mystic. Thank you for the bed and the food and the conversations over the kitchen counter. We felt really rested after only one night in your home.

44. Dana and the Mystic River Boathouse in Noank, CT. YOu are good people and really welcoming to us.

43. The Hulk Hogan look-alike in Charlestown Beach. Whoever you are, you made it a lot easier for us that day.

42. Tricia and Roger in Narragansett. Thank you for letting us stay at your house for two nights, picking us up and dropping us off letting us advance the miles and get a good nights sleep in the process. Thanks for the good food too!!!

41. Papa and Grannie. You have given us rest and healing all the way from home. We love you and miss you and want you to know that this gift was better than you probably know.

40. Lora Casey, the massage therapist. Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you…

39. Mike, Carl, Sam, and Robbie of Osprey Sea Kayak Adventures. Holy Cow. You are our haven from the trials of expedition. You have absolutely rocked our socks off with help and understanding. Repaired drysuit, repaired boat, and hopefully a repaired body. We believe that we met you guys purely from the Lord’s goodness looking out for us. It could not have been more perfect. Truly.

38. Joanne in Fairhaven. Thanks for dinner and the ability to completely crash. Sorry we weren’t more fun. We were exhausted and you let us rest. That’s invaluable.

37. Cathy’s family in Wareham, Mass. Thank you for including us during a difficult family time.

36. Brandon and Cathy of Portland, Maine. We love you. We miss you. You completely took care of us and gave is the comfort of old friends. Relief. Thanks for getting us across the canal.

35. Jack and Maye of Duxbury, Mass. You were the first people to open up your home to us on first meeting. That really means a lot to us and you were essentially our rescuers for the evening. It restores your faith in the goodness of people when you meet people like yourselves. God Bless you and yours.

34. Christine in the Cliffside Bed and Breakfastin Scituate, Mass. You made us feel like family and completely took care of us the two days we stayed with you. Thank you for genuine hospitality… and the convertible.

33. The Scituate Harbor Marina and Dobber. With only a days notice they let us stay there and keet our boats too!

32. Dane and Michelle. Honestly. Dont really know what to say other than thank you for everything. We had a blast with you and learned a lot about sushi! Hope to see you again along the way.

31. Joyce and Stephen in Marblehead. Thanks for the place to stay, the yummy food and DVR.

30. Kacy, who runs Discovery Adventures . She kindly let us stay in her parents backyard as we paddled through Gloucester.

29. Lyn, Mike, Lee and Anna in Essex. Really. We can’t thank you enough for everything you did for us. It provided us with a much needed respite and really made us feel like home. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

28. John Hoyt of Hoyt’s Lodges. Thank you for the truck rides to and from and for the night in the cottage.

27. The Kathadin Inn. You really were encouraging to us both and thank you ten fold for driving us to the beach at 6 in the morning!

26. Brandy- pizza and beer and really fun conversation.

25. The Higgins Beach Inn. Thank you for a great first night.

24. Everyone who came to say goodbye to us on May 2.

23. Jobie and Phoebe- for keeping our boats for us and letting us mail last min things to your house and for getting us to the water May 1!

22. The Smiths.. Ethan, Stacey, Finn, Ezra, and Jack- we dont really know what to say other than thank you for loving us. thank you for caring about us. thank you for having us over so many times. thank you for taking us to Boston. thank you for all the long conversations. may the Lord in heaven bless each and every one of you. we love you.

21. Our new church in Portland: Missio Dei

20. Alex- thanks for the surfing times and keeping our boats for us.

19. Pam and Peter Seneca- Thank you for everything. Thank you for the muffins on a cold and windy morning, thank you for the long conversations by the fire, thank you for introducing us to alex, thank you for taking us to get Chimichangas, thank you for the tour of portland, thank you for coming to dinner with us at longhorn, and thank you for being our first friends in Portland.

18. Thank you for all the prayers to all those that are praying for us. Family, Friends, the people who read the Stonebridge Newsletter… prayer is important and we know that it works. Keep it up!

17. Annie Elmer… thank you for being our photo secretary and specialist. You made our trip visually public to everyone.

16. All the people we met in Round Pond and Damirascotta. Nick, your pizza is wonderful and so is your hospitality. The Nutters, thank you for the ride to Round Pond and for praying for us. Breck and RoseAnne, thank you for everything. You outstretched your hands and your hearts to us and took care of us. Thank you so much.

15. The people of Port Clyde. It was a pleasure meeting you all! Thank you Joan for the Christmas Story poem. We will be looking for our Christmas Card. Also, thank you to Port Clyde Kayaks for letting us store our boats at your shop. More importantly… thank you to the entire Cody clan for all the love you showered upon us. Finding Spirit filled Christians on this trip was a huge lift to our hearts. You are so loving. Hello Zach, Grace, and James! You are excellent cooks! God Bless you.

14. Colin, the road biker from Montreal. You and hilarious and genuine and we want to name our future dog woofers. Thanks for picking up some groceries for us and thank you for the fireside evening. We hope you see some real seals sometime.

13. Gary, Brian, Whit, and Bill- the 4 MITA friends from Vermont. Thanks for the pasta primavera, the wine, and the poetry. READ ROBERT SERVICE EVERYONE!

12. Tyler and Valerie on North Haven island. It was so much fun to meet you both, (and Bebe) and laugh and laugh all evening. You are both so much fun. We hope to see you in Manhattan!

11. Pat and Jack at the Old Quarry Campground. These were our first kayakers we met the whole trip! They took us out to dinner in Stonington and the next morning gave us some home-made beef jerky. yum! Thanks for paddling with us too.

10. Mark of Carpe Diem Kayaking. He let us have our tent poles shipped to his house and then hand delivered them to us at the KOA. Thanks Mark! You helped us have a functional place to live.

9. Dave of Aquaterra Adventures, for the boat storage and conversation and the ride.

8. The People of Jonesport and Beal’s Island, Maine for making us a part of your families. Judy and Oscar, Dale, Jenny and Nathan, “Pammy” and most especially Barbara and Osmond. We want to come back and ride a lobster boat in the big race!

7. The people of Starboard Cove, Maine for being so welcoming! The Whites, Anette, Betty, Toby, and Mary Beth.

6. William and Jamie- Thank you for taking us to Maine. serisouly. That doesn’t need explaining. These two got us to the starting point… that’s pretty much crucial.

5. Aunt Rosie- Thank you for loving us enough to tell us no.

4. Maggie Gilkey- Thanks for the gear hook-ups. You rock. You are also a fabulous designer as a side note.

3. Lance Elzie- I hope you know how much you have helped us prepare for this trip. Let’s not forget who gave Bethany her very first paddle at ECU, (thanks for that Lance. it was stolen by the way). You have been a bottomless wealth of kayaking information and advice and we can’t wait to paddle with you in Charleston when we get there. Here’s a link to Lance’s Kayaking Business:www.oceanairseakayak.com

2. James Barker – Thanks James for helping plan and come up with this idea with me when we were in high school. I would not be going today if you had not been around! (James was supposed to paddle with me but now he is an Officer in the US Army so he has other commitments obviously)

always #1: The Lord Jesus Christ for bringing us together in such a perfect way. There is no room for coincidence in our meeting and our lives… it was perfectly orchestrated from the very beginning and we only have You to thank for it. Your mercy is everywhere. Also our families for believing in this regardless of logic and reason. You rock.