As the water rat said to the mole in the "Wind in the Willows," "Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing--absolutely nothing--half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats." I took this advice very seriously at a young age and hope to instill such wisdom in my own boys. They too were drawn to the water rat in the tale, and seem to love current as much as me. We shall see.
Dad and I put in many times at the Delaware Water Gap when I was a kid. Our favorite spot was Skinner Falls; a class II, certainly no class IV or nothing, just a fun run on the rapids. The boys ran their first, albeit much smaller rapids today and were squealing like piglets. Even our friend Mouna and Courtney, our family saviour, who had never paddled before was seduced by them.
We took the requisite lunch break. We took a few little swim breaks along the way too. The weather was perfect; hot, breezy with a few drifting clouds. Courtney quickly mastered the art of the paddle. Sydney was an amazing Captain and and Liji plugged away for a solid four and a half hours. It was quiet, stunning wilderness only two short hours from the city. It was a simple pleasure to be "simply messing about in boats."
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment