Paddle Your Way Through the South with PAC Kayak Rentals
As the weather warms and the daylight stretches longer into the evening, it’s the perfect time to experience the waterways of Louisiana’s Bayou Country from a different perspective. Grab your paddle and enjoy a nice and easy trek around the coastal marshes of Point-Aux-Chenes and focus on the ecology and southern scenery of our area with PAC Kayak Rentals.
Meet Eddie and Lisa Mullen, owners of PAC Kayak Rentals down in Point-Aux-Chenes, Louisiana. For years, the Mullens made their living off the land as commercial crabbers, earning themselves a positive reputation amongst locals along the way. One day, as they were unloading from a day of crabbing, they noticed a kayaker fall and skin his elbow on the concrete as he attempted to launch his kayak down a slippery, slanted boat launch – at that moment, an idea crossed Eddie’s mind.
In January 2016, Eddie purchased supplies and built a custom, first-in-the-state floating kayak launch with two bays that allowed kayakers to back their truck up directly to the launch to safely unload. By building the bays level with the dock and including an assistance bar, Eddie wanted to ensure no one else fell and hurt themselves at his launch. “God told me to build it,” Eddie said.
On April 1, 2016, PAC Kayak Rentals welcomed their first customer. Equipped with a bait shop, kayak rentals and a houseboat for rent, business quickly began to boom, ultimately resulting in the Mullens taking on a full-time business and expanding to eight bays in 2019. The ingenuitive couple even developed their own line of mosquito and gnat spray, knowing all too well that they are unavoidable and relentless around water, along with other balms and sunscreens available for purchase in their bait shop.
While PAC Kayak Rentals is open year-round, the best time to paddle along the coast runs from October through May, when the water is shallow and clearer, and you have less chances of running into bad weather. Located in one of the top fishing destinations in the world, PAC Kayak Rentals brings in folks from all over the globe to paddle our distinctive waterways and to discover swamp wildlife around every bend and curve of the marshes.
One visitor, a 14-year-old boy from Jerusalem, was granted the fortunate opportunity to visit anywhere in the world for his birthday. He packed his bags and traveled thousands of miles to Point-Aux-Chenes to fulfill his birthday wish to see the dolphins. “We were truly honored that he wanted to spend his birthday with us,” stated Lisa Mullen when reflecting on the memory. “We planned to bring him out by boat if he didn’t see them while kayaking, but sure enough, he saw the dolphins and his face lit up as he said it was his best birthday!” Others have traveled from France to see the wild horses roaming the waters, some travel from Montana to see a beautiful and serene sunrise over the horizon of the Gulf of Mexico. “We see things every day that we don’t appreciate, and then people visit, and they remind me of how special it is here.”
Today, Eddie and Lisa enjoy sitting on the front porch of their bait shop, cooking up a jambalaya and visiting with their guests. They have two sons and 10 grandchildren who help out when needed and may one day take over the family business, but for now, Eddie and Lisa continue to make waves in the kayak community and look forward to offering the opportunity for others to Explore Houma!
