On the river

We got a canoe many years ago, shortly after we were married.  At that time, graduate school left us with very little free time so we didn’t use the canoe much.  Then we started having babies and, though I tried to work out a safe way of buckling a car seat into the canoe, we decided not to take wee little kids on the river in a canoe.  Since we moved back to WV, we have been itching to get on the river with our canoe.

I grew up near the Allegheny river and we canoed on it quite a bit.  My hometown was very rural.  In fact, if you drive up to the edge of the Earth and then turn left and go 25 miles, you’ll get there.  Anyhow, we did lots of outdoorsy stuff and I had missed that in Nashville.  Now that we are in WV, we have more opportunity to be in Nature.

So, when we got the call to go canoeing with Emily’s aunt and uncle, we jumped.  They canoe often so showed us a fun launch on the Little Coal River (it’s WV…there is lots of coal here, of course).  The river was up some and moving pretty quickly from recent rains.  As we looked on the river, Isaac said, “Uh…I am not comfortable with this!”  Abigail quickly came down with an upset stomache as well.  They were both so funny and cautious (a definite good thing!).

We finally got the kids in the canoes and got ourselves launched and had a wonderful time coasting down the river.  There were few distractions and the lack of sound actually made my ears ring a little.  It was wonderful.  The kids settled down and we just coasted…and relaxed…and talked.  I loved being back in Nature (with a capital N for its importance!) and hearing birds and the water gurgling.  I loved hearing my kids chatter about the river and their thoughts.  I loved to see my son take his turn in the front seat, paddling pretty well.

(You’re kidding, right?)


So, we’ll get back on the river soon.  We’ll look for chances to slow down and relax together.  We’ll fish and drink too much pop and eat too many marshmallows and we’ll enjoy life the way it is supposed to be!

15 thoughts on “On the river

  1. I love Isaac’s expression in that one picture.

    I will admit that I have only been canoeing only once or twice. It was fun but I guess I have gone fishing more. It is amazing how quiet it is when you are riding along the water. Makes me want to go camping!!

  2. We live within 10 minutes of the Shenandoah and don’t get out nearly as much as we would like.
    Our canoe is covered with wild grapevines since we haven’t used it for so long!
    Glad you had fun!
    .-= Caprilis´s last blog ..Being Green =-.

  3. We’re going to the beach but we’ll go canoeing again soon after we return. I figure we’ll get kayaks when the kids get a little older…I can’t wait!

  4. Capri Kel – I surely hope so!

    Brenda – this weekend is the Tour the Coal float. I’ve never participated but I understand it’s a lot of fun. We always go on vacation when it runs though…

  5. We did a lot of canoeing growing up, but somehow my brother got our little red canoe! We just came into possession of two awesome little kayaks, though, so that might fit the bill. I am nervous to take the kids out in either one until they are better swimmers. I do have a tendency to flip the darn things!
    .-= Lynnie´s last blog ..Nudity in the Barnyard! =-.

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