Air/Sea/B&B Kayak Hanggliding Package on the Eastern Shore of Virginia

Explore pristine waterways, beaches, wonderful birdlife and soaring views of Virginia's Eastern Shore. Paddle with the Authors of "Kayaking for Everyone," Bill & Mary Burnham of Burnham Guides, take a tandem flight with Virginia Hang Gliding, and rest easy at the cozy Spinning Wheel B&B in historic Onancock.

Day one: Burnham Guides takes you places few know exist: pristine creeks with histories dating back to John Smith's encounters with Native Americans; remote, wild barrier island beaches; wonderful birdlife, both migratory and nesting. Destinations depend on weather conditions, customer's experience, and availability. All gear is included; all trips include a beginner kayak lesson, or an advance strokes and balance course for more seasoned kayakers.
 
Day two: Fly like a giant bird and experience the beauty of the Eastern Shore from several thousand feet in the blue sky. Professionally flown by an experienced, licensed hang glider pilot and safely enclosed in a state-of-the-art harness and glider, you will be towed into the sky by a specially designed airplane and released to enjoy flight in its truest form. Land back on the soft grass at our dedicated facility. Photos and a video of your flight are also available. Add this to your "Life List" and come paddle the sky with Virginia Hang Gliding.

Lodging: The Spinning Wheel B&B is your comfortable "base camp" for your air/sea adventure. From this historic, friendly home, you can walk or bike to all that this charming 1680 Colonial port has to offer: dining, shopping, art galleries and more.

Click here for details and pricing.

Florida Keys Kayaking Trips in 2011

We're now taking reservations for our 2011 Florida Keys paddling trips for mid-January through March!

Customized itineraries range from one-day paddles to Key West, Seven Mile Bridge overnights, 3-days in the backcountry to the full 100-mile 10-day adventure from Key Largo to Key West.

Join us, outdoor writers and kayak guides Bill and Mary Burnham, for multi-day kayak camping trips in the Florida Keys this winter. You'll find yourself literally paddling from the pages of the our award-winning Florida Keys Paddling Atlas.

Trips include all camping and kayaking gear, meals cooked for you, and instruction. Each couple or family will take home a signed copy of our Atlas, winner of a National Outdoor Book Award. 

We've just uploaded Customer Reviews from last year's trips.Visit BurnhamGuides.com to start paddling in paradise!  Call 305-240-3298 or e-mail with your dates.

Book-Signing/Kayak Shop Opening April 9

We've chosen Onancock's Second Friday art stroll (April 9, 5-8 pm) to open SouthEast Expedition's newest kayak shop on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and debut our two new outdoor books, hot off the press!

After 3 years leading kayak trips in the Onancock area for Dave Burden's SouthEast Expeditions, we are excited to now have an on-water location for tours, rentals and paddling gear. Headquartered at Sunset Beach near Cape Charles on the southern tip of the Eastern Shore of VA, SouthEast has been the premiere kayak outfitter on the shore for the last decade.

The historic Steamboat Ticket Office is an ideal spot for the northern shore Onancock-area tours. It sits right next to the historic Hopkins Bros Store housing Mallards at the Wharf offering indoor and outdoor dining and entertainment by chef Johnny Mo. We've arranged with Mallards to offer delicious box lunches to our kayakers!

You can see the little ticket office behind Bill in the photo above, to the left of Mallards' red roof. Both buildings are owned by the Eastern Shore of Virginia Historical Society and figure prominently in Onancock's nautical history and our historic kayak tours!

The first art stroll of the year is perfect timing with the release of our two new books this month: "Knack Kayaking for Everyone" and "Best Hikes Near Washington DC." We're also fresh from paddling the 100-mile length of the Florida Keys, so we tell you all about it and will also have copies of our "Florida Keys Paddling Atlas."

Come see the shop, meet other paddlers, and learn about paddling destinations up and down the Shore.

If you can't make it this weekend, consider planning a visit to our wonderful harborfront town of Onancock with B&Bs, dining and galleries.

The shop's regular hours will be Thurs-Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm, but we'll arrange a tour or rental other days by appointment: 757-787-2933

Key Largo to Tavernier: Day One

Here's a video blog on the start of our 100-mile paddle from Key Largo to Key West, dubbed "Paddle Your Atlas Off" since we're doing book-signings along the way for our Florida Keys Paddling Atlas, as well as our just-released Knack Kayaking for Everyone.

We're following the Florida Keys Overseas Paddling Trail, the sister trail to the bike trail (thanks Monica with Greenways and Trails for seeing us off!)

We have some folks joining us along the way, so stay tuned for updates on the adventures, camping all the way and stopping at historic sites and paddling under Henry Flagler's beautiful century-old railroad bridges.

We started at Florida Bay Outfitters next to the famous Caribbean Club in Key Largo on Florida Bay. Along the way we passed through the magical Dusenbury Grottoes and entered another world in deep and rough Tarpon Bay. Lunch stop was on the pretty beach at Key Largo Grande Resort, where the tiki bar serves awesome grouper sandwiches and Margaritas. In about 12 miles we reached our friends Dave and Lynda's for the night in Tavernier. Here's Bill's map of today's trip (click for a larger image).

Paddling under the 7-Mile Bridge

I shot this video while paddling underneath the old span of the Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys. I'm passing beneath the 100-year-old railroad bridge built by Henry Flagler from Miami to Key West. It's held up pretty well over the past century! (Read Last Train to Paradise for a terrific history on the railroad.)

We launched from Knight's Key campground, located at the tip of Marathon, oceanside, and passed beneath the bridges. While looking for rays or sharks along a shallow sandbar, we saw some dolphins arcing in the deeper water close to the bridge.

We made a rest stop on historic Pigeon Key a tiny island museum preserving the community that housed bridge construction workers and their families in the last century. ($11 admission charged per person for a tour.)

From there we passed again beneath the bridges, being carefuly of some pretty stiff current between the arches (whatever you do, keep paddling!). We rode the swells between the spans, and one in our group saw a manatee, before we popped back out into the ocean.

We could see our destination: Molasses Key, a private island where camping permitted for paddlers on the Florida Keys Overseas Paddling Trail Since we are trail volunteers, we'd brought some trash bags for a quick beach clean-up.

This island is a tranquil place to set up camp, watching the headlights on the far-off bridge and birds feeding in the flats.

Read more about our overnight kayak tour along the Seven Mile Bridge and here's a new photo slide show:

Silent paddling in Dusenbury Grottos, Key Largo

Just a mile's paddle from Key Largo and busy US Route 1, Dusenbury Creek is a deep channel through a mangrove forest. Dredged by an engineer named Dusenbury to support passage of construction boats for Flagler's railroad in the early 20th century, the channel is a popular passage for power boats.

But off of it kayakers can enter a maze of mangrove tunnels, silent, cathedral-like and hiding green herons and mangrove crabs. Beneath the clear water, colorful sponges cling to the mangrove roots harboring mangrove snapper and other fish.

If you're lucky, you may even see a giant manatee pass silently beneath your boat. Click below for the video:

Florida Keys Overnight Kayak Trip

Due to requests for an easy, more affordable overnight trip, we've just added a one-night, two-day traverse of the famous Seven Mile Bridge trip to our "Paddle with the Authors" itinerary.

Featured in films like the Schwarzenegger blockbuster "True Lies," this engineering marvel spans a Caribbean-blue stretch of open water between Marathon and the Lower Keys. Originally built to carry Henry Flagler's East Coast Railroad, the modern highway bridge now carries cars to and from Key West.

Explore and lunch on Pigeon Key, an island museum that housed bridge construction workers. Evening finds us watching egrets and ibis fish in the flats off our island campsite. As the sun sets, we'll see the distant lights of the evening commute across the bridge.

Never too far from civilization, with just 7 miles of paddling per day, this trip is perfect for couples wanting a romantic getaway, or as an introduction to kayak camping.

Cost per adult is just $295, all-inclusive: boat, gear, camping equipment, food and instruction.
Call 305-240-3298 or e-mail us to book your trip to paradise!

For more adventure, consider our Lower Keys expeditions of 2-5 nights, as well as the whole shebang--the 100-mile Florida Keys Paddling Trail from Key Largo to Key West. We are the only guides offering this 9-day life-altering expedition. All details are at www.BurnhamGuides.com

Watch a video Mary shot while kayaking beneath the bridges, and click the arrow below to view the Seven Mile Bridge slide show:

Paddle with the Authors in the Florida Keys!

Beginning in January, 2010 we'll be leading guided trips from the pages of our award-winning Florida Keys Paddling Atlas.

Imagine a romantic weekend getaway toasting the sunset from your own island, or spending Spring Break paddling to the southernmost point in the U.S.

Details on our customized, multi-day trips are at our brand new website: BurnhamGuides.com