Barry Newell: Have kayak, will travel

The wind chimes could be heard in Barry Newell's backyard in Palmetto.

So could the gentle lap of the waves from the Manatee River at low tide.

Maybe it wasn't a perfect afternoon for kayaking, but the 62-year-old outdoors enthusiast went out anyway in his 19-foot-craft.

One of five kayaks in the collection Newell at the house in which he grew up.

The Georgia River Network's Paddle Georgia 2010 was only weeks away. It starts in Franklin, Ga., on June 19 and concludes June 25 in Augusta, Ga.

"What I love about the event is it's a different river every year," Newell said, pointing to the Ocmulgee River cap on his bald pate.

He and 300 other kayakers will navigate northeast Georgia's Broad and Savannah Rivers this time around.

"An adventure that changes people's lives," said Joe Cook, the event coordinator.

Newell found that out about kayaking as a youth.

The last 20 years he's kayaked around the country -- Alaska included.

"I've been out in all kinds of weather, too," Newell said.

One state he won't kayak around is Florida.

The Race Around Florida, that is.

It's a 1,200-mile trip that begins at Fort DeSoto, goes down around the Keys, heads north to the St. Marys River in Georgia and Florida, then goes overland on a 40-mile portage to the Suwannee River, onto the Gulf and back down to Fort DeSoto.

It's a 30-day ordeal.

Newell loves kayaking, but not that much.

"I like to enjoy myself," he said. "That's insane."