Paddling to Pecks

One of the really fun adventures we have here at The Islands is a group paddle to Pecks, a seafood restaurant that is a bit south of Crystal River.  Pecks is in Ozello, about 17 miles by car from our place.  By kayak, it's about  4.5 miles.  Finally the weather is warm enough to paddle (it's been a long winter here in sunny Florida).  So, this morning eight of us set off in kayaks.  Five others planned to travel by car and meet us there.  It was a bit breezy which gave us some headwind, but it wasn't a difficult paddle.

I always find the hardest part of the trip to be getting into the kayak.  Using a kayak when it's on a beach is really easy.  Getting into a kayak from a dock is another story.  It always makes me anxious.  You have to go down the ladder, stand in the tippy kayak and then plop your tush into the seat.  I hate it.  The photo above shows me smiling in relief because I made it into the kayak without tipping it over and falling into the canal.  Once I'm in, paddling is no big deal.  This kayak belongs to another Islands resident who wanted to paddle one way rather than round trip.  That worked for me so I took her boat to Pecks and she paddled it back.

Here we are starting to form up in the canal that leads out to Dixie Bay.  I'm in the red kayak with my back to the camera.

Soon there were even more of us ready to start out.

This is the group arriving at Pecks.  I'm that tiny dot in the upper center of the photo.  It's a good thing I only committed to kayaking one way.  I'm not sure I would have managed the return trip.  Although, I will point out that we paddled into a headwind almost the whole way.  If the wind did not change, the trip back would be easy sailing with the wind behind the group.

Here I am relieved to beach the kayak and get into the restaurant.  Remember I said it's much easier to access a kayak when it's beached?  Well, I misspoke.  I had a lot of trouble standing up.  One of the guys offered to give me a hand but I wanted to do it myself.  Well, I lost my balance and luckily fell back into the kayak rather than into the water.  The second try I was successful.

And here I am ready to go into the restaurant.  Did I mention that Pecks specialty is grouper in an almond crust?  It's fabulous.  And, you don't need to worry about the calories when you've paddled there.  Once we ate and saw everyone back off, Dick and I drove back to The Islands.  This is what Florida is supposed to be.  We've waited for it a long time this year.

The Last Kayak

Four of us went for a paddle today planning to go to Peck's, the seafood restaurant in Ozella. Peck's is about four miles from The Islands by kayak and 17 miles by car. Since the forecast was for possible thunderstorms this afternoon, we decided we would make a decision about completing the trip once we were out on the water. Here we are just setting off from Sue's dock.



It was windier that we expected once we were out on the bay but it was manageable. We moved right along through the twists and turns the route takes through the sawgrass. There wasn't a lot of wild life today, just American Anhingas and Cormorants. I want to note, for my sister's sake, that there were no alligators in view. Once we spotted the buildings that make up Ozella, Abby called to reserve a table. We were told there would be a wait. After a brief conference, we decided that waiting to get a table and the subsequent time it would take to get served would not be conducive to getting home before 4 PM to beat any thunderstorms. None of us wanted to be out on the water in severe weather. We turned around and headed back to The Islands. The wind was behind us allowing Doris and Sue to use their kayak sails. They were really moving along. It wasn't very difficult for Abby and me to paddle with that great tail wind. Before long Dixie Shores, particularly the pink house that is our landmark were in view. I estimate our total trip at about six miles.


Just because we couldn't get a table at Peck's didn't mean we were going to miss our chance to have lunch out. We drove to Cravings on the Water in Crystal River and had a delightful lunch there. Cravings serves seafood and Cuban inspired dishes and is located right on Kings Bay. We snagged an outdoor table with a view of the water. Dick came with us and served as the photographer.

I'm going to miss these women, kayaking and the Florida sunshine. It's hard to believe we will be boarding the Autotrain on Wednesday and arriving back in NJ on Thursday. It seems like only yesterday that we got here. We'll be carrying many wonderful memories back with us.