Like Illusion, I've had a lot of solo wilderness travel experiences. They're great, but on some of those trips I've occasionally wished for someone with whom to share the experience. Solo sea kayaking is often a Zen-like experience for me - meditative, but with very heightened awareness. I remember all those trips with a clarity that doesn't seem to apply to the larger group outings. Two weeks solo, poking my way around the southern tip of Nova Scotia, was one of the best outings I've ever had.

Chesapeake Bay is a fairly wide body of water in places. All my crossings there were made with my kayak partner at the time -Brian Price. I would not have enjoyed doing them solo. The longest was 18 miles across in Winter, and it was a spectacular paddle. You don't need fog; because of the low terrain, sight of land is lost early on in the crossing, but with map, compass, tide tables, and Brian's superior navigational planning, we were always spot-on when landing. Brian would sing Sea Shanties whenever things got pushy, and we'd periodically raft up and hoover Walker's Shortbread Cookies - "The Paddler's Best Friend". Those were some really good times.