Today’s word: OPPOSITION. After 60 miles yesterday, 40 more to the casino should be a veritable walk in the park. I should know that nothing is quite as to be expected out here, and some unexpected trials would assail me.

I again was up before dawn. I made coffee and oatmeal after dinner last night to have cold this morning; I had visions of getting to Vicksburg by 3pm to get settled and lay a few Hamiltons on the Packers for Monday Night Football, so early start was again in order.

I did hear some critter scuffling outside at some point early this morning , this time it knocked over my camp chair and I yelled out at it. With the rain fly on I couldn’t see it, but when I woke I noticed the characteristic otter tracks around my camp. I was glad to know that they are still surviving in these parts, though they certainly seem less plentiful than their northern brethren.

The left eye was still a concern this morning; hoping it would be better, it seemingly was worse today. I tried to take a look at my eye in the phone, but that wasn’t much use. Basically I could tell that I still have an eye. I would forgo the contact lenses today and choose my glasses, but I would also need to wear sunglasses over those due to the light sensitivity in that eye. So, pardon me fashion police, I’m on the water with double sets of goggles. I thought about fashioning an eye patch out of duct type just to help in the recovery, but taking on 100,000 tons of tugboat and barges with impaired depth perception seemed risky; and, readers would likely comment about taking this pirate thing a little far. “What’s next, wooden leg or hook for hand? Ha ha.”

My daughter Sarah was recently shot in the eye with a Nerf gun, and she had similar symptoms that we diagnosed as a cornea scratch. I suspect that windy night could’ve put sand in my eye that I then rubbed around and now the sand is gone but the hurt remains. I thought about calling my optometrist friend Jeff Meyers for another opinion. But then I thought, what am I gonna do, send him a photo of my eye? “Yes Matt, I can see that you have a left eye, that’s good news.” Forget it, if it’s not improving by my day off in Vicksburg, then we’ll address it. So, with tears streaming from my left eye I headed out.

Fifteen minutes after starting off and I get a text message from… Jeff Meyers! Uncanny. I knew it was Jeff because of the ‘Ice, Ice Baby’ text tone (Jeff’s a big Vanilla Ice fan!) I had to investigate what was on Jeff’s mind.

He just wanted to send me an image of Popeye’s dad, Poopdeck Pappy. Jeff said there’s a striking resemblance between us, and something about the “poopdeck” resonates. I’m not sure why this came to Jeff’s mind, maybe he watches cartoons in the morning before leaving the house. I remember doing that, when I was like 9.

I have to admit, there are some striking similarities: scruffy beard, massive paddle induced forearms, room in the waistline from 20 pounds lost… I can’t say Jeff is off base on this. Guess I know this year’s Halloween costume!

The current started fast today, but then got into another long, wide lakelike stretch. When I took my first morning break and opened the stowage hatch for some trail mid, I noticed I have ants; those little brown ones, not the big greasy looking ones. There weren’t a ton, I would around 20 total. I thought: Good luck getting back to the colony, losers. Send out all the chemical signals you want, I don’t see any of your ant pals coming to join you. When’s the last time you saw an ant build a boat? When I get to Vicksburg I’ll call the Orkin guy.

When I stopped for lunch, I was unfortunately in another slow stretch of water. There was a dead fish ahead and upwind of me, so I paddled forward about 100’ to distance myself from it. 5 minutes later, it’s within 15 feet of me; paddle again; another 5 minutes it’s back. This is not the first time I’ve experienced this with dead fish. I decided, if I do ever do this journey again, next time I’ll travel on a raft of dead fish, that seems the fastest way to travel.

For much of the day, the scratch on my left cornea meant that I have a tear running down my left cheek all day. It reminded me of the velvet Elvis painting in the office at home that I picked up years ago in Tiajuana, and that gave me a little smile. Maybe someday, somebody will be painting pictures of Captain Charcuterie on velvet! “Oh honey, would you buy me that velvet painting of Captain Charcuterie? That will go great over the toilet in our sailing bathroom at the lake house!” “Huh? That’s Poopdeck Pappy. Who’s Char… Chartock… Chairrockery?” “He’s only like the most famous pirate ever. He got his start establishing a Loon Juice trade route to the south; he invented the plated assortment of savory meats, cheeses and crackers; he rid Transylvania of vampires…” “But he looks so sad.” “No, those are tears of joy. Charcuterie only cries when he’s happy. Like at weddings, and funerals. It’ll be perfect in that bathroom!”

So, the wind was fairly strong and against me most of the day. My 6.5 mph pace starting the day was now at 4 mph. 3pm arrival at the casino was not going to be possible; hopefully 4pm was still in range. Then at 2:40 – SNAP! And with that the peddles were no longer moving the fins. I pulled the motor to find I’d snapped a chain fighting to keep pace against the wind. “Cap’n, I said yer pushing her too hard!” “Shut up Scotty.” I pulled to shore and wanted to check how far I had to go. I have the spare up front, but it has a wonky pulley on the front so maybe I should use it to swap chains. As I was looking at my phone, I got a call from Jim Martin. A friend from the early 90’s in Salt Lake that I haven’t talked to in months, years? I told home my predicament and said I’d have to call back. I sent him the blog link, which he appreciated and said he would share it with both of his friends and the one of his three kids that still talks to him. Though I imagine those “talks” are really just dinner “conversation”: “Dad, could you please pass the sorghum?”

I swapped drives to the spare and started into the final 7 miles. Still imperceptible flow and strong winds. When the casino finally came into sight 90 minutes later, I still had 2.5 miles to go, then I would need to figure out the docking/beaching situation. When I phoned the Ameristar casino days ago they couldn’t give any guidance, but they said they have had thru paddlers stay in the past. When I got to the Ameristar just before 5pm, I found a nice expanse of beach to take out, but getting to the casino was impossible. There were 10-12 foot walls with a few raised emergency ladders, and going around meant traveling hundreds of yards on a steep bank of rocks. I called the casino again, but they couldn’t help me.

Back on the water, I paddled a half mile back upstream to a tugboat maintenance facility that had a ramp leading up to the main road. A friendly worker there said the management had gone home for the day, but if I locked up there that they would most certainly cut me free and confiscate or set the boat adrift in the morning. He suggested a spot back downstream where he’d seen thru paddlers camp in the past.

On my way back there, I spied what seemed a suitable spot at the Waterview casino next door. They couldn’t offer any more help than Ameristar, but they contacted security, and disconnected me in the process. It’s now nearly 6pm and I’m going to quickly lose daylight. This was the spot. I did a quick reconnaissance to find a difficult path through weeds and over rocks, but it was doable. I pulled the boat ashore, sunk some anchors in the sand and locked everything up. It took me three trips and nearly 30 minutes, but I got all the gear around the walls and to the parking lot to put onto a luggage cart.

As I was waiting to check in, I heard some people talking down the hall, saying something about “somebody called wanting to show up on a kayak.” I went down the hall to find lead security officer Jesse and 2 other security staff. I told him I’m the kayak guy. He wasn’t really keen on where I parked the boat as it’s on their property and deemed a ‘security risk’. But, after chatting for a bit, he agreed that moving at this point was becoming a safety risk if I have to haul everything back in the dark. He agreed to let it stand for one night. “Actually, I’m staying 2 nights; I really appreciate the accommodation Jesse.” We shook hands and I went back to the front desk.

A woman waiting behind me wondered aloud about my luggage cart with dry bags and kayak paddle. I told her about my journey. She was fascinated; she asked about my typical lodging, eating, etc.; she even wondered what my BMI must be. I finally got checked in and into a room overlooking the river, and my boat. I’ll be comfortable knowing I can look at the patio door to see whether it’s there in the morning.

After another exhausting day, I was grateful for a shower and then I went down to look for a bar and burger at the casino. The bar apparently is only open on weekends, and the burger was about hospital cafeteria quality. But, I sat in front of a television alone with the football game. I finally called Jim Martin back, and I talked to Christin. Then I spent $2 on the electronic slot machine at the bar inside the casino so I could watch the game with some other people around. Though this too was a bit of a sad scene: gambling is just not glamorous. I went back up to the room for the fourth quarter, and enjoyed a good rest in a king size bed. I went to bed thinking countdown is now at 10 days, 9 on the water, and 8 holes. Also worth noting (so don’t worry, Mom): my eye is feeling much better in the evening than this morning, this shouldn’t be worrisome.

Thanks to Shootman again for another great fitting song recommendation for today’s playlist addition, it certainly matches my mood as I need a rest before the final push – The Supersuckers Road Worn and Weary