Sunday, August 16, 2009

My Favorite Part was the Bus

Last weekend we went with a group of people from church for a 7 mile canoe trip. Sadie had been once before and loved it, and Josie was especially looking forward to her first time in a boat (and on a bus - they take you to a drop off spot in an old school bus). We were all looking forward to it, since it was supposed to be sunny and around 84 degrees. Weeelll... that did not happen. Dressed in our shorts, tank tops, and donning our bug spray and sunscreen, we were dismayed to be about 2 minutes into our trip when the downpour came and proceeded to pelt us with water for the remaining 6 7/8 miles. Josie was pretty much freaked out the entire time. She was terrified of tipping over (she said, "I did not think it would be so tippy!"), even though the water was pretty shallow through most parts of the river (and by shallow, I mean we could use our paddles to push with instead of using them to row with). She cried because of the rain, because of the rocks, because she was cold... you get the idea. Here is a quote for you: "I do not like the rain! I do not like this boat! I do not like the cold! I do not like this water! I do not like this trip! I want to go to the party! How far is the party!? How many more minutes?!" And from Sadie, when Josie was whining and squealing from an 'almost tip' incident: "It's okay, Josie. Even if you fall in, you can stand up, and you can't get much wetter than you already are anyway!" Good point. She was so calm and helpful and great to have along!

Jesse decided to prolong our suffering by trying to FISH in the rain, and so we had to just float along instead of paddling as fast as we could and get it over with. Twice we had to turn around because he got his line snagged... Let me just say that he is lucky to come home with his poles intact. :) We passed the time by counting water lilies (we ended up with 61) and looking for snakes, muskrats, and cranes. FINALLY, we got to the dock area (about an hour behind everyone else) and ate the leftovers while we tried to dry out by the fire. Sadie had a good time burning sticks and leaves and everything else she could get her hands on while she thawed them out. On the way home we asked Josie if she liked the trip and she answered emphatically, "NO! My favorite part was the BUS!"