Not Back to School: Camping With Eating Machines

The thing about going camping with two teenage boys is that you begin to realize that there is a thin line between sanity and insanity. Tea Lake campground at Algonquin Provincial park is a quiet place to get away for that last week of summer, just before you don't go back to school. It was there I spent 5 nights with The Kid and his cousin.

It's a 12 hour drive from Cincinnati to Algonquin, and for once I was grateful for iPods. Not being into the sort of tunage that teenage boys are, I didn't drive them crazy with Jimmy Buffett, and they didn't drive me crazy with the likes of White Stripes.

The funny thing about teens is that they can find stuff to do no matter where they are. My nephew was absolutely sure he was going to catch a fish while we were there and to honor that hope, I brought along three sticks of butter that we were going to use to fry them up over an open fire. Needless to say, the fish eluded us all week.

The first time we went to Algonquin, The Kid bailed on a camping trip that involved paddling. We of course had to take our cousin to show him the wonders of camping from a kayak at the ranger station. It seems kayakers are required to take toilette "kits", not the kind you're thinking about, along on the boats. They were both glad we had vault toilets in the campground. It's the simple things in life.

WARNING: One cooler and three crates of food is not enough for two teenage boys who have played hard all day. Why do boys eat so much?

With that idea I'll leave you with an eating machine food hit.


Campground Nachos
In the following order place these ingredients on a large square of foil:

1. A mix of Mild Cheddar, Monterrey Jack, Pepper Jack
2. Sliced Black Olives
3. Canned Salsa
4. Corn Chips, Tostitos work best
5. Another large square of foil
   

then

1. Crimp foil edges together to form a foil package.
2. Place foil package on the open fire, provided you got the fire started in the first place.
3. Wait until you hear sizzling.
4. When you hear sizzling, remove from fire.
5. Flip foil package over on large platter so the cheese is now on the top.
6. Peel back foil.
7. Feed eating machines.
8. Start next batch.
   

The Caine Mutiny and Other Snowbird Pursuits - Florida 2008

I guess it would be appropriate to elaborate on the title I chose for these three previous entries.

As a Sophomore, The Kid has been reading some books that require a little more thought than usual. Herman Wouk, another one of my favorite authors is a great story weaver and this trip to Florida we took 2 Herman Wouk books with us. One The Kid was reading, The Caine Mutiny: A Novel, is a story about an incident that happened during WWII. The Kid, in a conclusion essay, had decided to focus on an interesting character in the story, Captain Queeg, (a YouTube Video) and on the classic question one always asks about this novel, was Queeg's sanity questionable? I had my all time favorite Herman Wouk story with me, Don't Stop the Carnival: A Novel. This is a story about changes in attitudes and changes in latitudes, a theme I am rather fond of.

Rarely do we travel without purpose, and this year our trip to Florida was to kayak, but also to read these great books.

Our Kayak adventures in Southern Florida included a passage across the intracostal waterway to Don Pedro Island. This island is only accessible by boat and worth the effort.

A quite paddle on Red Lake near Caspersen beach. Red Lake is a home to abundant wildlife and if you're not careful, can dump you out into a very busy Florida intercostal waterway!


And after all the reading and paddling, we took time to walk the famous "sharktooth" beach.


Caspersen beach is where you can find sharks teeth on the beach. It used to be that you could find thousands in a walk, now you're lucky to find one. The word is out!

The Caine Mutiny and Other Snowbird Pursuits - The Wakulla Kid

Florida 2008 A friend sent an email with just one link: A Hotel Built of Ice and Snow Just for grins I nibbled and landed on: ICEHOTEL (YouTube video) is situated in the village Jukkasjärvi, 200 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle in Sweden. The heart and backbone is the River Torne flowing freely through the unspoilt wilderness. Covered with a meter thick ice layer winter time the river is the source of all our art, architecture and design. The pure water and the steady movement of the river creates the clearest ice possible.

I have only been in Sweden twice. Once in Stockholm and that was basically civilized and the other time was in Lulea, in Northern Sweden, about 70 miles from the Arctic circle. That was a party. I went in June when it was daylight all day.

My friend has a warped sense of humor I suppose, especially since I had sent Valentines greetings from the sunny state of Florida...

The Kid and I have been kayaking in Florida, while temperatures in Ohio dipped to the teens and below. One of my good friends moved to Tallahassee and invited us down with the lure of a Manatee sighting in the Wakulla river. The Wakulla is situated near Tallhasse and is an intersting place. There is an awesome lodge that is on the National Register of Historic Places, a spring and a river that are crystal clear and an assortment of wildlife I thought was only reserved for the Everglades.

We launched kayaks in 90 degree weather with the hopes of seeing Manatees and after an hour paddle upriver, saw incredible birds, plantlife and alligators, each one bigger than the last one and no Manatees. Now as gators go, they really don't mess with you much because they'd rather sit in the sun - like us snowbirds, but this big fella was one I'd have tossed a beer as a peace offering if I had had one. Instead I told him if he posed real nice, I'd get him on Hollywood squares(a tale I reserve for really big gators).

Needeless to say The Kid didn't stick around for the photo opportunity.

Not Back to School: September 2007

Well as predicted, mother ocean called us back to visit and I couldn’t think of a better place than the Outer Banks in North Carolina. There are some awesome learning opportunities here. Our studies this year include Aerospace Engineering, and what better place than the state that was “First in Flight”? Our trip included an afternoon flying kites on the very grounds where Orville and Wilbur Wright launched man into the space-age at Kitty Hawk, well really it is Kill Devil Hills, near Jockey's Ridge State Park, but who’s nitpicking on what we remember from our history? Before we left we studied the plane and the kites that were used at the Wright Brothers Aerospace Museum in Dayton, Ohio, but there's nothing like actually going to the place where flight began!

The Currituck Beach Lighthouse is an interesting step back into maritime history as are all the lighthouses in the area. The Whalehead Club has an interesting. It has been restored and is a fun place to visit, as well as the village that surrounds it. It isn’t as bustling as Roanoke or Williamsburg, as it tells a different story. It is a place where you can launch a kayak, have a picnic, catch a Blue Crab. Also The Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education, located in Corolla between the historic Whalehead Club and the Currituck Beach Lighthouse had some awesome daily, free programs. There was a class on crabbing, kayaking on the Currituck sound and other items of interest to homeschoolers of all ages.

Hatteras Lighthouse Bodie Island Lighthouse The Cape Hatteras National Seashore is an awesome example of maritime life long ago. The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is just one aspect you;ll find in this area. Cape Hatteras National Seashore preserves the portion of the Outer Banks of North Carolina from Bodie Island to Ocracoke Island, stretching over 70 miles. Included within this section of barrier islands along N.C. Route 12, but outside the National Seashore boundaries, are Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge and several privatecommunities. The Outer Banks area was once dubbed the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" for its treacherous currents, shoals, and storms and Cape Hatteras has a wealth of history relating to shipwrecks, lighthouses, and the US Lifesaving Service. We went in search of the wreck of the Altoona, a fun outing, but kind of a snipe hunt...next time we'll go better prepared with exact locations and a better map. The Outer Banks folklore is fun to read about and the idea that we were standing on the same beach as Blackbeard was pretty neat seeing how we fancy ourselves as pirates when we go Windjammering....

Currituck Sound Paddlin' Alligator River Paddlin' There are many kayaking opportunities at the Outer Banks. We paddled on the Currituck Sound, near the The Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education and saw mainly marshy terrain. The Alligator River refuge, about an hour inland offered soem pretty interesting paddling as well, thought there was not an alligator to be found! We were treated to three brown bears munching on something in the middle off a grassy field. I think if we ever go back to the Outer Banks , we'll paddle around the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. It seemed like an interesting place.

Another bit of local lore I was determined to discover this trip to the Outer Banks was the Wild Horses of Corolla. Locally they are known as Banker Horses and are they something to see running out of the dunes. You need 4 wheel drive vehicle to get to the place where the horses live these days, but it is worth that effort. So all in all, our celebration of "not" back to school was good. The kid got to try out some Aerospace basics learning to fly a stunt kite at Kitty Hawk and he started reading "Walden" by Henry David Thoureau. He says it's a great book about checkin' out. I agree.

Who Knew Adams County Was so Beautiful?

It’s been a while since we’ve written. Our “school” year started and we have been wrapped up in many new courses of study. We always have time to think and plan new adventures of course. Once we have our study topics for the year the “field trips” get easier to think about. We’ve enjoyed the theater as part of our travels in our own back yard so far this“school year”. We saw the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park production of Nobel Prize-winner John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men”. It was an excellent production. We also saw “Spamalot” a “musical lovingly ripped off from the motion picture 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'. Also a great production.

As usual as part of our Autumn studies, we go to the Ohio Renaissance Festival in Harveysburg, OH. There’s really not much in Harveysburg, OH, I suppose you could check out the Caesar Creek flea market if you really wanted to make a day of it, but we go for the Renaissance Festival. At the Renaissance Festival you can always catch a sword fight, but being the theater animals we are, our favorite is naturally the “Theater in the Ground” where one may just luck in and see a great production of Beowulf. The actors perform in a mudpit, yes, hard to imagine, but nonetheless, worth the trip to Harveysburg, OH.

As civilized as all the theater talks sounds, we just can’t help ourselves, we’d rather be paddling. As our luck would have it, we were fortunate enough ot get to Adams County, Ohio. Near the Ohio River yet far enough away from the city to be able to see thousands of stars at night. The kid and I got the opportunity to paddle Brush Creek in early fall and boy was it beautiful. An unspoiled creek that has the occasional cabin perched on the hills and home to that illusive Kingfisher I have been trying to photograph all summer. Brush Creek dumps into the Ohio, but instead of that treat, we paddled up river. The Kid stopped to fish and I explored with a camera. No fish but great pictures - though no pictures of the Kingfisher...maybe next year.

In our future we are planning a trip to Southern Europe and soon we are heading to the Caribbean for some sailing in the French West Indies. We are in the process of planning other trips as part of our homeschool so stay tuned! When you take your homeschool on the road, life is an adventure!

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

Sometimes you can find the best things right in your own back yard! We spent the summer discovering the local waters in our kayaks and boy do we have some good stuff here in the midwest!

Licking River, Kentucky

The Morgan Family pioneered the canoeing industry in the Southwestern Ohio and Southeastern Indiana regions nearly 50 years Morgan's has 3 locations and we chose the Little Miami for most of our summer adventures. Every Wednesday this summer, until the river got really, really slow, we went to Morgan's Ft. Ancient to paddle six miles. The river is generally a Class I and mellow is just what we wanted each week! They also provide a shuttle service for those with their own boats, and we like that! What's fun about this place is the campground stop. There's a snack bar, good conversation and a frisbee dog that doesn't stop. We like Morgan's because it really is a feel good place. You can tell there is a family pride there as you will encounter many of the Morgan family involved in every aspect, from running the grill at the snack bar to giving paddle lessons in the parking lot to driving the shuttle bus. So far Morgan's Ft. Ancient is our favorite locally. We definitely want to check out Morgan's in Costa Rica, but we'll save that for another day...

Paddlefest - Cincinnati, Ohio

A unique events happens locally in the early part of summer. Last year we attended this event to try out kayaks, this year we were volunteers at Paddlefest. Paddlefest is a huge event where Tevas and Chackos are the footwear of choice and language like "Perception", "Dagger", "good shuttle bunnies" and "Class IV" is spoken. If you paddle, this event is for you. Two days of events, booths, waterhounds and fun. The "float" down the Ohio river to the Public Landing in the city is awesome, almost 1,000 kayaks and canoes in the water floating by River boats and docks hosting a variety of bands playing music for the paddlers. The best part about volunteering aside from meeting other paddlers are the Ohio Riverway water maps you get to keep. Though my back was stiff for a day or two after helping to launch paddlers into the Ohio River for 3 hours, it was one of the best volunteer gigs I ever participated in.

Licking River, Kentucky

Even though we are finding riverways in Ohio to be awesome, Kentucky has some great places too and The Kid and I find ourselves traveling over the Ohio River bridges to the Bluegrass state as often as we head for Ohio water. Once the Little Miami got a little bit lower, we wanted to find moving water, and the Licking River was it. The Licking River is one of the few rivers in the world that flows North and it is right here in our own back yard.The day we were there showed us that it is Class I [where we were] and perfect for a hot July day! Thaxton’s South Fork Canoe Trails, Inc. and Paddlers’ Inn is located on the Northwest side of the US 27 bridge on the banks of the Licking River is where we put in and found shuttle service. Thaxton's is also a family business and you will find family members operating most of the facilities here. Generally The Kid is pretty agile when we have to launch from a dock and that's what you do at Thaxton's, but it was here that I successfully learned how to get into my kayak from the dock without getting wet, and I'll always remember this place for that knowledge. My grand kayak accomplishment for the summer. Now all I need to do is practice what I learned.

Laurel River Lake, Kentucky

We chose to do our big kayak trip for the summer during one of the several midwest heatwaves. Ever slept in a tent with freezer ice packs? Yep. That's what we did, though the water was great! Rockcastle River and Laurel River Lake, both in Daniel Boone National Forest were the places where we spent more time in the water than on it. The Rockcastle River got its name from the majestic cliffs that tower above the river and it is a beautiful place. The Upper Rockcastle is normally suitable for the less experienced paddlers and the Lower Rockcastle should be attempted only by experienced, well-equipped paddlers. I read that Rockcastle can be Class IV, but when we were there seemed like a "pussycat". [links: Nature Conservancy Rockcastle River watershed ] The Rockacastle campground was a very scenic place and camping spots are on a first come basis. Next time we'll probably stay there, but this trip we stayed at Holly Bay campground on the Laurel River. The boat launch was easy, the marina was fun and the scenery was great.

And now it is time for us to get back to schooling but we're planning another sailing trip, so stay tuned......

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WHITEWATER RATING SYSTEM

Rivers are classified based on the International Scale of River Difficulty. Skill level needed is based on both the general fitness and strength of a paddler, plus paddling skill, judgment, and expertise.

CLASS I
SKILL: Beginner, easy.
DESCRIPTION: Moving water with few riffles and small waves. Few or no obstructions.
CLASS II
Intermediate, requires care and some knowledge of paddling and reading of the river. Easy rapids with waves up to 3 feet and wide, clear channels that are obvious without scouting. Some maneuvering is required.
CLASS III
SKILL: Experienced, difficult.
DESCRIPTION: Rapids with high, irregular waves often capable of swamping an open canoe. Narrow passages that often require complex maneuvering. May require scouting from shore.
CLASS IV
SKILL: Highly skilled, very difficult.
DESCRIPTION: Long, difficult rapids with constricted passages that often require maneuvering in very turbulent waters. Scouting from shore is often necessary, and conditions make rescue difficult. Generally not possible for open canoes. Boaters in covered canoes and kayaks should be able to Eskimo roll.
CLASS V
SKILL: Team of experts, exceedingly difficult.
DESCRIPTION: Extremely difficult, long, and very violent rapids with highly congested routes which nearly always must be scouted from from shore. Rescue conditions are difficult and there is significant hazard to life in event of a mishap. Ability to Eskimo roll is essential for kayaks and canoes.
CLASS VI
SKILL: Team of experts with every precaution. Utmost difficulty, near limit of navigability.
DESCRIPTION: Difficulties of Class V carried to the extreme of navigability. Nearly impossible and very dangerous. For teams of experts only, after close study and all precautions taken.

Beef Jerky, Hells Bay and the River of Grass

"Everglades has no single feature, no prominent point of interest now or ever. It is a mosaic of many things seen, smelled, heard and endured."

Daniel Beard - first superintendent of Everglades National Park

You start out in a midwest snowstorm and end up in Florida packing nothing but beef jerky, cut-offs, sunscreen, red and yellow kayaks. Travel is great when you do it this way. Homeschooling on the road. Beef jerky at it’s finest, "Catcher in the Rye" for reading and the thoughts of a new adventure.

A drive on the single road through Everglades National Park does not reveal the beauty and magic you can find there. We spent 2 days kayaking in this amazing place and left feeling like we explored only a very small bit of this river of grass.

The Everglades offer some pretty good kayaking spots like “Hells Bay” , “Noble Hammock”, “Nine Mile Loop”, “Mud Lake Loop”, “Bear Lake Canal”, “West Lake”. All come with the caution: “Tides and winds can significantly affect your trip. Do Not overestimate your abilities”. They ought to add “Don’t worry about the alligators - they don’t bite.”

The Native Americans named this place “The River of Grass”. We chose three trails, Hells Bay was one of tightly woven mangroves, West Lake was rough and wavey and a lot of “Need for Speed” fun, but the Nine Mile Loop is where you understand why the original inhabitants named this place the “River of Grass”. The description for this trail reads: “A scenic trail through a shallow sawgrass marsh with scattered islands of mangroves. Watch for alligators, wading birds, and an occasional eagle. Trail marked with numbered white poles. Motors prohibited.” It’s 5.2 miles and takes roughtly 5 1/2 hours to paddle - leisurely. There are 116 trail markers to be exact and it is one of the neatest paddles we have done yet.

Florida Everglades Information

Alligators That Eat Boney Teenagers

“Let’s go kayaking in the Everglades.”
“ The alligators will eat us. “

“When I wanted to camp at Yellowstone you told me that the bears would get us. When I wanted to go kayaking in Canada you told me that the wolves would get us. As you can see we are still here, one of us very skinny, the other one of us a healthy middle ager. Besides, alligators wouldn’t mess with you, there’s not enough meat on your bones.”

“Sigh.”

I think our trip to the Everglades will happen. We have been talking about going back to Cabbage key with our kayaks, the Everglades are just a bit further South -why not?

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." -Albert Einstein

I'm Pretty Sure It's Not Poison Ivy - The Whole Story

We often take our schooling on the road. Last February we went to Cabbage Key, Florida to study Botany and Conservation. We're thinking about a return engagement, this time we'l take the kayaks.

My journal from that week...
I'm Pretty Sure It's Not Poison Ivy
Cabbage Key, Florida - February 2005

Paddling and Swatting, Wet Entries, Impossible Boatdocks

As I wrote last time, for kayaking, a paddle and a fly swatter are necessary in Canada this time of year. The campground we booked in Algonquin sent us a coupon for “OFF”, our suspicions have been confirmed. My student's comment “think this is a hint of things to come mom?” My reply “we’ll be too in to paddling it to notice.”

One thing I have noticed is how interesting people are when they are so into what they do. I know my Guinea Pig is a fascinating creature, she’s very into her plate of lettuce right now. But seriously, yesterday as we got to know our new kayaks on a local lake I noticed how into watersports everyone around me seemed to be. They were interesting to me. There were sailors very intent on catching wind, anglers, well intent on whatever they get intent on, boaters very into speed and dragging people behind their craft, jet skiers, yes I had forgotten about jet skiers, the snowmobilers of the water sports. Even jet skiers are into what they do. My student was so worried that we’d look dumb trying the techniques we were taught in our classes and clinics. I pointed out to him how intent everyone else was around on their floating craft of choice. No one would notice our antics. I suppose it was that thing we all go through as teenagers, not wanting to look dumb in front of anyone. I imagine we were amusing for those into their sunbathing on the beach as we intentionally tossed ourselves from our boats in a variety of amusing ways.

Of all the techniques we have been exposed to, climbing into a kayak from the water (wet entries) and getting out of a kayak at a dock are the two I would consider the “test” for graduation for any new paddler. These are impossible tasks requiring the “doer of the deed” to bend in ways they didn’t even remember that their bodies could. Unless of course one weighs under 100 pounds and don’t care about grace, composure, scrapes and bruises. I am sure the whitewater kayakers have a few moves they’d consider graduation maneuvers, but right now we’re into the touring aspect of this sport, so we’ll save the Snake River for another outing and look forward to our “graduation day”.

Paddling and Swatting

Well Daphne the Science Guinea Pig is much better thanks to constant “basting” with Betadine. We’ve acquired those new day touring kayaks, Perception Carolina 13.5 and Carolina 14.5 and we chose not to go with Hully Rollers but Yakima Kayak stackers and boat loaders. Our days of renting water craft are over. Had to keep my student away from the trolling motors, we’re going to work on upper body strength and character.

Paddlefest 2005 sealed the deal on the Kayaks. A map of Canada and conversations with other paddlers landed us in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada for our first major adventure. We are currently reading: “A Paddler's Guide to Algonquin Park (Paddler's Guide)” and “Frommer's Algonquin Provincial Park” and awaiting our Algonquin Canoe Routes Map from the “Friends of Algonquin” bookstore. We’ll probably go to some local lakes to practice what we’ve learned in our clinics and classes. From what we understand, a paddle and a fly swatter are necessary in Canada this time of year. Our kayaks are of the “tippy” nature for beginners, so paddling and swatting seem like a skill that needs to be learned and practiced. I suppose we could invest in some Deet.

Now all we have to do is get the rest of the overgrown boxwoods out of the backyard and we are good to go....

Sleeping on a rock under a hankie, continued

So here we are in the wee hours, Daphne the Science Guinea Pig is chewing on her timothy hay and one of my neighbors is either drunk or really upset with his dog because he’s been outside for the last 20 minutes calling somebody’s name.

May is great sleeping weather, you don’t need the furnace and you don’t need the air conditioner either because you can sleep with the windows open. This time of year is also great for camping, that’s why we went last weekend. We beat the Memorial Day crowds and the muggy humidity that the midwest is sometimes known for.

We camped at Daniel Boone National forest in the Zilpo Campground. I can honestly recommend campsite H17, H18, H19 as the choice spots. On the lake, private and just far enough away from the bathrooms. At night you can hear the muskies jumping in the lake, the raccoons looking for goodies and my student crunching on crackers - all accompanied by darkness.

The one thing I can say about camping is that in the woods with all of the creatures I can possibly imagine, I’m always dog-tired, and I typically manage to find the one unlevel spot for my Kelty mummy bag. Every time I camp I tell myself I should have gone for the LL Bean Burrito Bag because the mummy bag isn’t very good for mommies. For whatever reason this sleeping bag manages to transform me into a real stiff mummy by morning. Maybe I should have paid attention to the name. However this time, I decided it was time for my student to enjoy the privilege of an “adult” sleeping bag and I would take the one that unzips completely leaving me plenty of room to toss, turn and easily grab crackers away from crunchers in the dark.

Just as I got settled in under the unzipped hankie and the crackers stowed, my student asked me to recall the time we slept at Alta in the snow. I was just getting started on envisioning tucking myself in at the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston, then I traveled in my mind to the The Ritz-Carlton at Amelia Island Florida and then on to Le Meridien Etoile in Paris and the New Otani in Tokyo and I was being asked to revisit this camping trip to 10 below zero weather. Sigh. I decided it would be more fun to remember the Hotel Atitlan, Guatemala and the brown scorpion we accidentally brought back from the lake country in Guatemala. We named the scorpion Ed and donated him to the local zoo but that’s a story for another day.

Also as part of our “little getaway” we took a kayak lesson with the Cave Run Bicycle and Outdoor Center . April was a great instructor and managed to get us seriously thinking about a bigger kayak adventure. As I have written before after we get our new house settled, we intend to go to Niagara Falls, though no kayaking will be involved. I read that you can stay at a lighthouse on Prince Edward Island , Canada so that is on our list to do.

The kayak instruction went beautifully and we now feel we can at least intelligently try out a variety of water craft for our future adventures. My student ended up taking the lesson, mainly because tiddlywinks are difficult to find in Kentucky, but also, kayaking it seems, is a sequential activity. Our instructor went through the concepts step by step, instead of tiddlywinks, my student went "tilt, tilt, tilt" on the dock. It seemed the visual instruction in his head and the steps presented weren't quite lining up and he was eventually forced to join us on the water to actually learn the strokes and moves. I knew I'd love this sport!

With this entry we have joined a group of other intrepid travelers over at travelblog.org . We're dual blogging now!

Kayaking on the Blue Nile and the Nile

A MOVIE DESCRIPTION:
“Mystery of the Nile
On Christmas day of 2003, world famous adventurer Pasquale Scaturro and a team of explorers and filmmakers set out on an epic quest to become the first to complete a full descent of the world's greatest rivers—the Blue Nile and the Nile—from source to sea. Four months later, on April 28 at 7:01 a.m., Scaturro and his expedition partner Gordon Brown, completed this 3,250-mile dream when they reached the mouth of the Nile at the Mediterranean Sea.

Their remarkable expedition is the basis for Mystery of the Nile, a brand new, extraordinary OMNIMAX® film. Audiences will take a rugged journey through crocodile-infested waters, enormous waterfalls, giant rapids and breathtaking lakes.....”

In my mind it wasn’t the Blue Nile that was the star of this film, it was Gordon Brown, intrepid kayak-guy who was the safety guide for the journey we witnessed. No I don’t ever fancy myself a white water kayaker, I’ll be happy with touring the shores of Prince Edward Island, but some of the things Gordon could do with maneuvering his water craft was really amazing.

My student cannot imagine why we need paddle lessons. As a homeschooler, he is rather fond of books and believes that we can get what we need about kayaking from the diagrams in our kayak instruction book, but that’s the difference between a visual learner and a sequential learner. This sequential learner needs step by step instructions for safety and comfort. This sequential learner needs a person to show them how to get into the kayak at the dock!

We plan to take our school on the road this summer to Canada. I read that you can stay in a lighthouse on Prince Edward Island and that’s what we intend to do. We want to go to Maine to kayak. We hear it's great there, but we're still researching that idea. We also plan to see Niagara Falls, although, kayaks will NOT be involved.

Do we really need a "hully roller"?

“Should we get the kayak stacker or the boat loader”?

You never know what kind of answer you’re going to get from a preteen in a sporting goods store.

“The boat loader mom, or you can get the hully rollers and the mako-saddles.”

I needed an explanation of the “hully roller”, because I had a different image in my head than what was actually being presented. Ahh, communication, isn’t it wonderful? You just never know what new bit of information you’re going to get from a homeschooler. It’s not that homeschoolers are any different than anyone else, it’s just that we intentionally take more time to actually think about things, at least that’s what I like to believe. I know that when I get an answer like this, it will have been thoroughly researched and the confidence behind the one sentence answer could yield a rather lengthy explanation should I require it.


I love being on the water, in the water, near the water. I thought a kayak would be a great way to do all of the above. There’s a lot of history to water transportation like this. Some people believe that the ancients traveled extensively using this mode of transportation, or something similar. I just believe it will be a great way to get to some of those places we may never get to see otherwise. The history lessons, the physics, the science, the math, the navigation will all be the great "amenities" that will come with this acquisition. But a kayak is also going to be another great excuse to take our homeschool on the road - or on the water in this case.

Making an addition to the family like this requires research. It seems it might be another lifestyle change of sorts, similar to the decision to homeschool but with different questions. Where does one store a kayak? How does one get a kayak from the top of the car to the water? How does one get into a kayak without rolling it over into the water? Can you really stow camping gear in one without getting your only source of nighttime comfort wet? Is there a cup holder on board? All burning questions we’ll need to answer before we invest in this new family member.