There is a misconception that boating is for rich people. I would like to suggest that boating could make you rich. I’ll come back to that thought in a little bit.
One of the biggest reasons I started this blog was to try and get more days out on the water with family and friends. This past Labor Day we decided to attempt getting three families out on the water. With the canoe loaded on the truck and lunches packed in the cooler, the plan was to meet at 10:30am and all caravan out to the river. If all went accordingly, we’d be paddling on the river by 11:15am. Like all good families we were on the river by 12:30; more than an hour past the planned launch time.
As we loaded all our gear into the canoes in preparation for launch, my brother noticed some red ants on the inside of his canoe. As he began to further inspect for the ants he quickly realize there were hundreds of them crawling out from below the gunnel of his canoe. Depending on whether or not the item was covered in ants, we began throwing all manner of people and items out of his canoe and either onto the shore or into the water. I’m sure the people watching from the river bank thought we had lost our minds. As you can see from the pictures we were able to rinse the majority of the ants from his boat by submerging it. We would later discover that the ants were actually nesting within the gunnel of his canoe, thankfully nobody was really bitten by the little demons.
Some previous tropical weather had lead to a healthy river level which made the current a little faster than normal. Our preference when traveling the river is to launch and depart from the same site; so we like to paddle against the current on the first leg of the trip. Going upstream first has two advantages; on your way back you can drift with the current and enjoy the outdoors, or if the weather is turning you can paddle with the current to hustle back off the river. It’s also a good workout, my arms and shoulders were sore for days.
So how does one get rich from boating? As we all paddled along the river I couldn’t help but feel rich. It is a rare feeling to feel like you have “arrived”; to set out on a goal and to have a complete sense of satisfaction once it has been achieved. I can honestly say I felt that. As I looked around at my family on the river, I knew I was a rich man. As I am sure most of you saw this coming, I wasn’t talking about money rich. I am talking about rich in relationships and love. Sure, my family argues and fights (sometimes while paddling on the river) but that stuff easily gets washed down river on a day like our Labor Day.
Some previous tropical weather had lead to a healthy river level which made the current a little faster than normal. Our preference when traveling the river is to launch and depart from the same site; so we like to paddle against the current on the first leg of the trip. Going upstream first has two advantages; on your way back you can drift with the current and enjoy the outdoors, or if the weather is turning you can paddle with the current to hustle back off the river. It’s also a good workout, my arms and shoulders were sore for days.
So how does one get rich from boating? As we all paddled along the river I couldn’t help but feel rich. It is a rare feeling to feel like you have “arrived”; to set out on a goal and to have a complete sense of satisfaction once it has been achieved. I can honestly say I felt that. As I looked around at my family on the river, I knew I was a rich man. As I am sure most of you saw this coming, I wasn’t talking about money rich. I am talking about rich in relationships and love. Sure, my family argues and fights (sometimes while paddling on the river) but that stuff easily gets washed down river on a day like our Labor Day.
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| That's a huge gator! |
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| (Kids on the rope swing in the background) |
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| (Yes, that rabbit is smoking a pipe) |
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| Papaw going home with a fever. |
I too, am a rich man...
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