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*CHEERING*
Man, what a beautiful, beautiful waterway.
We had, we had... The first two days were twenty mile plus paddles.
And it was super, super hot and humid. You know, typical summer Florida conditions.
Day four and five, we just got slammed with lightning storms and it delayed us a lot.
We held up
in an old boathouse on the river at one point just to take shelter for a few hours.
And then we had the Apalachicola National Forest,
which was just completely flooded.
We stayed there for a night and it made for really swampy, buggy conditions...
*WIND*
We had the full gamut of elements, it was beautiful out there.
Good training. You know, this is the first conservation paddle
in a series of five.
They're leading up to Expedition Florida 500.
That begins in January.
So we wanted to utilize this as an opportunity to not only train
and get prepared. Work out that kinks and our own processes. But to celebrate these beautiful rivers and waterways, as well.
*TALKING*
We've been doing a lot of social media and awareness
to get people involved and to see what's out there.
We've had a lot of people online, you know... I look at the comments
and a lot of people didn't know this waterway existed
and just connected with it.
*TALKING*
It's completely wild. We saw, like we can count the number of people on our hands that were on the water. We saw maybe one or two boats
each day and that was it.
And then we'd see them the next day further down the river.
*TALKING*
As the state of Florida prepares to celebrate next year's 500th anniversary of the settling of Florida by 15th century explorer, Juan Ponce de Leon, Team Expedition Florida 500 will mark the occasion with a year long journey of Florida's waterways, coastlines and ecosystems. In preparation, the Expedition just concluded a conservation paddle down the Apalachicola River and we're hopeful that they discovered intricacies between the river's resources and the economic well being of this city. History tells us that the expedition team, led by Ponce de Leon, discovered Florida while searching for a fountain of youth. It is our hope that this modern day expedition will report the discovery of Apalachicola, a jewel in the midst of Florida' Forgotten Coast. That exemplifies what Ponce de Leon, could have only imagined when he landed in Florida some 500 years ago. As you continue your preparation for 2013, I'd like to invite you back to join with us on January 19th at our 3rd Annual Oyster Cook-off. It is our wish that you continue your journey with godspeed and that it be both insightful and rewarding. *CHEERING*