Matt’s Mississippi Manifest

Today’s word: FORLORN. The sky was gray from sunrise to sundown, and I was being dropped off again, this time without a side dish to help sustain me. Though this is really what I had signed up for: being alone on the river for days, I found myself questioning today more than any other –…

Today’s word: NOSTALGIA. I know it’s only been 4 weeks, and I’ve been in cars and restaurants and bars several times in that span, but these normalities do feel a little more strange with each passing day. As Christin and I have wondered, how do military personnel leave their families for months of deployment? I…

Today’s word: OBFUSCATE. Last night was chilly, dipping to 50 degrees. That brought some dew that soaked our tents, and a fog that left the river invisible to us. We awoke around sunrise to get an early start because today was Mark’s last day of this leg, and me and the girls were due to…

Word of the day: FRIVOLITY. Another day of cool weather; a brief 20 miles; reunion with Christin; I get to see my baby girl! There’s a spring in my stair step today (after getting past the hazy beer hangover). Yes, we woke late, started slow, and felt sorta miserable for the first hour. We’re old…

The word for today is: MAGNANIMOUS. From the time we awoke in the screen porch of the restaurant to the return to our tents in Dubuque, we were recipients of generosity and selflessness. I woke up and put the coffee on around 5:30. Then I grabbed our lunch from the fridge and put it with…

Today’s word: ASSUAGING. After 6 days of winds from the south and heat, the weather turned favorable today. As an old boss of mine used to say whenever oil refining margins were good: it’s time for “makin’ hay while the sun shines” which basically means taking advantage of good conditions. This old adage is different…

Today’s word: GRINDSTONE The strong headwind, waves and sun won’t relent. I’ve run a dozen marathons, I even beat David Goggins in the Las Vegas marathon, so I feel I know what it’s like to push yourself physically. This kayaking into the wind isn’t quite that hard, but it comes close. And sustaining this effort…

Today’s word is : ELEPHANTINE. We had a big day planned for today – 35 miles from LaCrosse to Lansing Iowa, with 10-15 mph headwinds predicted. Hearty breakfast and a large order of mental fortitude were in order. I filled up at the Hampton Inn on premade omelettes and a waffle; Mark interestingly chose oatmeal.…

Today’s word: RECUPERATION After a mammoth day yesterday, we planned for a pedestrian 20 miles to the Hampton Inn in LaCrosse. Sarah and Jacob were excited for another day on the water, but they let Mr. Mark and me set out on our own in the morning. We would meet up halfway and do some…

I need to let you all know… it will be a few days before I get up to date on the blog posts. I am five days behind. As I type this, I’m in DuBuque Iowa. States of Minnesota AND Wisconsin are completely in the rear view mirror. I am sorry that I haven’t been…