July 1, 2017
The journey to Mound Key changed last minute because my city, DeLand, was voted best Mainstreet in all of the country and I just had to be there for the celebration! So instead of heading down the night before I woke up before the sun and headed down to meet George at his parents house. They did not live too far from the launch point so we met there and off we went!
I will admit, I was a little worried! When you think of two people having a kayaking adventure, George and I would not be the two that would come to your mind. We saddled up the tandem kayak and set our course. This was only the second time I sat on a kayak and the first time I only touched the paddle to put it in the boat. George did most of the paddling and within an hour we made it to the southside of Mound Key. We followed the trail until we spotted a sign that said no trespassing with a barbed-wire fence around it so we turned around and got back in the kayak. George then discovered there was a north entrance so we headed in that direction, in search of a state park sign to confirm we were in the right place.
With perseverance we found what we were looking for. Behind the sign was a trail and we followed it, anxious to see where it would lead. Wouldn’t you know it led us right to the same spot we turned around at! It was really cool to explore the mound but it’s still a bit creepy to me to walk on the remains of so many Native Americans food waste.
As much as I complain that all of the parks should be accessible by land, I am really happy that we got to experience the kayak trip to the mound and back to the shore on such a beautiful, rain free day!
