It’s just a few days before my 40th birthday, and I have ACHIEVED my goal of kayaking around the entire Delmarva peninsula. Exactly 600 miles. Complete.

On Wednesday, October 18, I paddled the last 1.4 miles underneath the Chesapeake Bay bridge along the shoreline of Kent Island. Now I’ll be honest, I had visions of ending at the restaurant there by the bridge (Libbey’s) on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, joined by friends and family. But if anyone has noticed, the weather has been TERRIBLE the last few weekends. So in order to reach my goal of completing the final leg before my 40th, and before the water temps dip too low this season, I squeezed in the last stretch on a lovely Wednesday afternoon. My Dad, my Aunt Margaret Ann (AMA) & her hubby Rich, and my dear friend Michelle from Ocean Pines came to join me, cheer me on, and celebrate over lunch.

Now if you recall from the time I launched at Terrapin Nature Park back in 2021, the parking area is 1/3 mile from the beach! So my Dad, AMA, Rich, and Michelle walked out to the beach with me as I hauled my kayak on our little kayak cart thingy – they even took turns pulling it for me!

There’s not a lot to talk about when I only paddled an out-and-back trip with a total of 2.8 miles, but I will say that I’m thrilled I left this leg for the final stretch. The day was gorgeous. Winds totally calm. A beautiful day on the Chesapeake.

And I totally underestimated how cool it would be to paddle under that bridge! Holy cow! I’ve of course driven over it hundreds of times, been under it a handful of times on a boat, but paddling in my little 14′ kayak was a totally different experience. It was really cool to stop between the two spans and take in the view.

There was also something pretty special about being under that iconic bridge. It so… Chesapeake. If that makes any sense. We studied the Chesapeake in my 1st grade class and that was my initial inspiration for my career, and ultimately led to my decision to live my adult life on the eastern shore. And as I paddled under the bridge, I couldn’t help but notice that it is THAT BRIDGE that links the first 20 years of my life to the second 20 years of my life.

I started spending summers in Ocean City when I was 19. I remember coming home to the western shore after that first summer and had a feeling of “being home” when I finished driving the westbound span. But after spending that second summer on the eastern shore, I always felt a sense of relief and a feeling of “being home” when I finished crossing the eastbound span.

As I pulled up on the little beach near Libbey’s, I had officially hit my goal. 600 miles around the peninsula. And since I still had to paddle back to my little entourage back at Terrapin Nature Park, I had a quiet moment to myself to take it in what I had just done. It was a pretty powerful moment.

Then I called Brian to share my news. Although I was bummed he couldn’t be there, it was also kind of cool to celebrate with just him for a moment before heading back.

When I got back, my crew was waiting for me on the beach, each with a camera and cheering. We didn’t waste any time, hauled my kayak back to the parking lot, and drove over to The Jetty for lunch and some celebratory cocktails.

“So how do you feel?” “How did you come up with this idea?” “What made you want to do this?” “What was your favorite section?” “What’s NEXT?!”

I’ve been hearing those questions A LOT lately. Those questions don’t just come from other people though. I’ve been asking myself those questions too! I don’t have all the answers yet, but I’ll do my best to answer a few.

I set this goal back in 2012 when Brian and I were driving northbound over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. As we approached Fisherman Island, I wondered what it would be like to paddle to some of Virginia’s barrier islands. And then I wondered what it would be like to paddle around the whole damn peninsula. I laughed at the idea at first, but then it was one of those ideas that you just can’t shake off. You keep thinking about it. And after a few weeks of thinking about it, I started scouring google earth to plan each leg, measured how far it was, started a blog, and before I knew it, I logged my first 8 miles between Wallops Island and the Chincoteague causeway.

At first, I wanted to paddle around the Delmarva peninsula to see the sights. And dang, did I see some sights. But as the last 11 years progressed, my kayaking goal became way more than sightseeing. With each mile logged, I became both physically and mentally stronger. Some stretches pushed me to my limit, enabling me to dig down and find strength when I felt like I was depleted. Other stretches forced me to work through the serious anxiety of being out in the wilderness alone, miles from another human.

Over the last 11 years, I switched jobs, moved, got married, became a mom, bought a house, started a business, experienced the struggles of raising a special needs child, and lost my biggest cheerleader – my mom. Life is pretty crazy sometimes, but being able to chip away at this long-term goal gave me stability and a form of much-needed self-care when I was at my lowest.

Some people could paddle around the peninsula in 3 weeks. But I’m not at all disappointed that it took me 11 years. I’m actually even MORE proud of myself for sticking to something for 11 years, despite some of the curveballs life has thrown at me.

While I’m eager to reminisce and share my most memorable moments, as well as recognize everyone that helped me achieve this goal, and tell you about my plans for what’s next, I need time to put all of those thoughts together. For now, check out my completed map enjoy a couple photos from the last 11 years: