After yesterday's little geocaching misadventure with the sheriff, the Ski Boy and I decided to venture away from shore and law enforcement. We did a kayak-only cache located in a mangrove key in Sarasota Bay.
What a blast it was!!!!! We went out with Island Styles - a local watersports tour agency and had a grand time. I've kayak'd off and on for most of my life - never very seriously, but enough to have a pretty good clue about what's going on. The Ski Boy is not a kayaker - but since he's pretty much talented at everything, he took right to it - like a manatee to water!
We spent the first hour paddling around our end of the Bay and touring a few keys. The second hour was spent winding our way through incredibly thick mangrove tunnels - thick like you wouldn't believe. Just like the movies. Tres nifty!!!!
And on the geocaching front - well, the Tunnel Vision geocache was located in the last tunnel/trail on our route, so it worked out perfectly. Of course, using a GPS in a thick mangrove forest is dicey at best. But, fortunately the cache hiders selected a spot where one can get a decent signal. Getting out of the kayak in the mangrove swamp was a bit of challenge, but I managed to disembark, all by myself, without tipping the kayak. A very smooth dismount!!!!
All in all, it was a wonderful two hour trip - what a way to sightsee - and snag a geocache!!!!
Our send off committee:
This little guy is hanging ten:
Our Little Green Heron sentinel:
The nautical Ski Boy:
A Great Blue Heron in the opening of a mangrove tunnel:
The Cache:
Me and the cache!
1:39:31 PM 
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