A wet willie

The loml and I went canoeing with Pam and Wally on Monday. At least that was our intention. Pam and Wally bought a 17' canoe (with paddles) at a garage sale and they had borrowed a 12' canoe from some friends of theirs. They were to use their canoe and the loml and I were to use the 12' one. Ha!

Once we got in our canoe it became apparent that it had little or no stability. That may have been as a result of its short length. We weren't sure. We shoved out just a couple of feet from shore and promptly capsized.

Next Pam and the loml tried it, their weights being more compatible (I outweigh the loml by 75 pounds). They pushed out a little from shore two times and both times Pam called out "Pull us back! Pull us back!"

So finally it was decided that Pam and the loml would use the 17' canoe, and Wally (who can't swim and who wasn't all that gung ho to canoe in the first place) and I would meet them at a boat ramp 4 miles down river.

I stayed with the canoe (and the coolers and the stadium chairs and everything else that Pam had unloaded because she didn't want to chance dumping it all in the river, while Wally drove my car down river to pick up the boat trailer and come back so we could load up the canoe that stayed behind. Two diet cokes and two jalapenos later Wally showed back up and we got everything loaded and took off.

It took the women about an hour-and-a-half to make the boat ramp (they were mostly just going with the current). They had a wonderful time. We all unpacked our lunches (the sandwiches the loml had made for us all and some string cheese and tomatoes and apple sauce) and ate.

After lunch the women took off for another boat ramp about two miles further on and Wally and I again headed out to meet them.

While I wound up doing no canoeing, I nonetheless had a relaxing afternoon. I enjoy Wally's company and their was a nice breeze to keep us cooled off. And, of course, the loml had a great time. Well worth the time.