Blackwater River Kayaking (Rookie Questions)

I live near Charleston SC, and there are a lot of blackwater rivers in the area. I am interested in paddling these rivers but I have several rookie questions:

1. I read and hear a lot about the speed of touring kayaks. How fast can they be reasonable be paddle for long stretches (ie. is going up river against a current a problem)?

2. How do tidal surges on lowland river affect ones ability to return to a launch site up the river? Must one wait for the next tidal surge to go back up the river (note: the launch point near my house is never completely dry, just lower a low tide)?

3. Does one generally plan their lowcontry river outings based on the tides? or as an alternative??? Does one most always launch up river and arrange for pickup down river?

I'm about 8 miles up the river from the main bay area surrounding Charleston, but these question apply to many of the rivers in the local area (Edisto, Santee Cooper, etc). I don't want to get stuck down the river with a paddle.

Thanks for your help and forgive my ignorance.

JD Washington

Check out this site for kayak info http://www.paddling.net/