These last few days I've been paddling through Hurricane Katrina and Rita area. There's been much rebuilding, and still much rebuilding to do. Hugging the coast below Bay St. Louis is not a good idea because there are still many hidden pylons from ripped out docks and other debris.

The wind was once again at my back, or broadside. It was rough going around one point that seemed to last forever, but then I was able to pretty much surf in to Polecat Beach. There's a railroad that runs right along the Gulf there. It's actually the Mississippi Bay, but the barrier islands are so far off, and virtually non-existent anymore that it's really open Gulf. The Gulf seemed to lay down as I approached the entrance to the Rigolets, a huge wide river that drains from Lake Pontchartrain.  Lucky for me, I had both wind and tide pushing me up to Slidell. It had been a bit of a rough ride, so I enjoyed the break.

Within two or three miles of my destination at Barry Dennis' place, two guys in a little work boat came up to me. At first the one man was very polite and nice, and then his buddy said something to him that I couldn't here. The tone immediately changed. "I like to burn dead dinosaurs," the man then told me before gunning his boat and shooting his wake out at me. He and his buddy then spun off into a nearby cut.

As I approached the cut, a barge came up and I held up to let it pass. As I resumed my paddling and headed to the bridge, the guys came flying out of the cut, bow pointed in my direction. They only changed direction when they saw me stop to make a call on my cell phone. Thank goodness we got the replacement, because this was not a good time to be on the water without it!

I paddled to a low part of the bridge where they could not fit, and that brought me closer to the cut I was going to take. Coming out from under the bridge, sure enough, there they were, heading back down in my direction. As I got closer to the sea wall where some people were fishing, I looked back and saw they were gone.

It was a little disturbing, to say the least. I don't expect everyone to agree with me, but blatant intimidation attempts are a little extreme. And truly, after all that I have paddled through, these guys think they'll scare me with a little wake? It's more, though, the angry sentiment and obvious lack of self control.

That some folks still don't get that our future security, economic stability, and even our own personal health is dependent on a vital and productive ocean and Gulf is exactly why we need to reach out to others to educate them about how these resources impact them personally as well as what they can do to conserve and protect this most precious of resources. Needless to say, we also need to implore Congress and this Administration to protect it.

I am convinced, by the amazing folks I have met on this journey, and the goodness in the hearts of people, even those that might want to run me down, that common sense will prevail and our ocean, Gulf, and coastal resources will be restored to their vibrant past. We see areas where sea grasses are coming back, and wetlands are being restored. This is a start, and it will get better. The sooner we act, the sooner it will. We cannot afford to wait.