Firmly armed with his kayak, Semper Fi, seventy-six pounds of camping equipment, and his brother’s taunt– You always were a little odd –ringing in his ears, Eugene pushed off from Lake Itasca, Minnesota, on his 2,500-mile voyage down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. Betty tagged along at a safe distance in the motor home just in case. The day-by-day journal of his four-and-one-half-month trip encompasses his adventure in learning how to battle the cantankerous waters of Old Man River; his encounters with the array of people along the way, whose reactions to his trek ranged from simple curiosity and a willingness to help to suspicion and barely concealed animosity; the wars in which he fought; and his puzzling love/hate relationship with an older brother. This is an inspiration for anyone who has a burning desire to fulfill a hidden dream.