Arrival in New Orleans

Margo ended her journey in New Orleans yesterday and was greeted by supporters at a Lake Pontchartrain beach along the University of New Orleans. NOLA Brewery even comped a half-keg of beer for the reception. Her mission is now over - well, at least the physical paddling part - that is. So she's paddled nearly 4,000 miles in the past three years - while spreading her message of the need for ocean conservation through community events and the media markets in over half of America's coastal communities so far.

As remarkable as Margo's journey was, so too was her mom's as she braved the 2-day drive from New Jersey to Louisiana with two kids in a station wagon with marginally-working air conditioning just so she could witness the end of Margo's trip. (Of course, we still have the trip back ahead of us with Margo, her canoe and all her gear in the same 'ole station wagon!) Eek!

Her landing on Saturday is also quite fitting, as she now hands the baton (paddle?/oar?) over to our friend, Roz Savage - who today (Sunday) begins the second leg of her trans-Pacific row. Roz is departing from Hawaii for Australia. She's quite a bit higher-tech than Margo and me are, as you could even watch live web streaming of Roz's launch on her website, www.rozsavage.com, where you can also follow the adventures of another woman's efforts to paddle for the planet.

Below are some links from the end of Margo's journey:

Evening news in Biloxi, MS 3 days before final landing (news video):

http://www.wlox.com/global/category.asp?c=151146&clipId=&topVideoCatNo=1...

End of journey in New Orleans (newspaper). This was also on thre front page above the fold of today's Metro section. Some people in town even recognized Margo from the story:

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/womans_1200mile_kayak_journey...

A few photos on a Picasa web album from the final landing:

http://picasaweb.google.com/miami2maine/GulfPaddleFinaleInNOLA#