Charleston Marsh Kayaking with COA

Just a few minutes from beautiful Folly Beach, and

less than thirty minutes from downtown Charleston...

Is a fantastic outdoor adventure company everyone should know about!

Run by a small group of naturalists, Charleston Outdoor Adventures,

or COA for short, gave us the best kayaking experience we've ever had!

And, considering how often we are in kayaks...

That's saying something!

We had two guides for this excursion. Besty and Cooper. Get this... Cooper's mom's
name is Janet. How fun is that? She's a Cooper, I'm a Cooper, I drive a Cooper, so
we were off to a great start before we even hit the water! Besides her name, the best
thing about Cooper was her passion for her job and everything she offered to teach us!

Even experienced paddlers like us learned something new! Of all the guides we've

ever encountered, Cooper and Betsy were the best. Nothing annoys us more than

being assigned to guides that sound like they're reading off a training manual just

to CTA, and get you through your excursion. Well, that didn't happen with COA.

While it was clear that Betsy and Cooper were well trained, what sets them apart

from the robo-guides is that they live the outdoor lifestyle and love it like we do!

Betsy and Cooper are both students in Charleston. Betsy is studying French and

International Studies... Yes, I did recommend MIIS to her! Cooper is studying

Marine Geology. And yes! She really should be all over this in Monterey too!

I've said it before and I'll say it again... Whatever it is... This is the cure!

So last weekend we were river kayaking Ashe County in the mountains...

This weekend we're marsh kayaking just off the Atlantic Ocean... With

dolphins no less! And, next weekend we're off to night-kayak in Durham!

The dolphins were incredible! It felt a little spooky when they came close or

appeared to go under the boat. I caught myself holding my breath, watching the

ripples and hoping they wouldn't come up for a breath and knock me over!

But they didn't. It was just beautiful, peaceful dolphin watching! Now

this... This is another story! Things could have been rocky had we gotten

caught up in the wake of this shrimp boat coming in for the evening...

But with Besty and Cooper guiding, all ten of us made it out of the way in plenty

of time! Boiled shrimp, fried shrimp, broiled shrimp. Quick... Name that movie!

The weather for our excursion could not have been better! It began a little

hazy so we weren't sure what the sunset would look like, but it cleared out

just in time. And, the water was calm - just like paddling on glass - Perfect!

We've been debating over whether or not to

invest in a couple of sea kayaks with rudders...

I prefer them and have always wanted one... But Army Dad always said he didn't

see the need for them. However, now that he's tried a boat with a rudder, the

debate is over. Our next kayaks will definitely be sea kayaks with rudders!

Besides, rudders help you get exactly where you want to go. Be

it over to take a closer look at a shore-line ship wreck...

Or to check out the wildlife, like this Great White Egret

So rudders it is!

That's another great thing about taking this trip with COA...

Not only did we have great guides and a fantastic location to

paddle, they also provided us with Best-in-Class equipment!

And we all know that the right equipment makes all the difference!

Here we are taking a break half way through our trip to...

Admire a killer sunset!

I didn't think the wildlife sightings could get any better

than the dolphins and birds we saw on the way in...

But it did!

This was one very sweet kayak trip!

Great guides, great equipment...

Ah-mazing sunset!

And, just about the cutest creature we've ever seen out on the water!

When we first noticed this mink it was spread out on top of this grass...

Just like he was enjoying the sunset too!

And why not?

This was one beautiful view!

Huge thanks to our guides, Cooper and Betsy and to all the other cool people

behind the magical adventures offered by Charleston Outdoor Adventures