It's amazing how much difference there is in the quality of play between the 7/8 team, and the 5/6 team...Ben is now playing in the 7/8 team (even though he's still 6), and they play and have positions and everything...last year on 5/6, they had fun, but mostly played blob-tag around the ball...
The dogs have been cute the whole time, playing and sleeping hard every day, rain or shine...
Ben wasn't grumpy here, just practicing his stinkeye...you never know when you'll need to freeze someone's blood in their veins...
Gail has been balancing sun and fun with soul-deadening work in her virtual office on the top of the boathouse...not everyone can be a public school teacher...
Yesterday, Ben and I went for his first real canoe-paddle...he paddled a 9-foot Hornbeck boat with a double-bladed paddle...he did a great job for his first time out (he's noodled around in the shadows before, but this was our first time covering real ground)...
He started out with a loop around the raft, and after watching him, I was confident that he could handle himself on the big water of Upper Saranac Lake...so he headed back, we packed a picnic, and headed over to Green Island for lunch and a swim...
He has been mentally ready for a while to try this out, but his muscles and coordination have been lacking until now, it's exciting that we can now enjoy this stuff together...
I paddled my bigger solo boat, an Old Town Penobscot 15 (if anyone cares), which is a better rescue boat in case he had tipped over on our trip...he didn't, but I like to hope for the best and plan for the worst...
We headed out, with me working hard to limit my instruction, and concentrating on making sure that the two of us just had fun, which turned out not to be so hard...we both had a really fun time talking and paddling, and enjoying each other's company...solo canoes are so fun, Ben figured it out quickly, both the paddling, and the joy of being the captain of your own ship...
We did some good synchronized paddling...
I followed him for a bit, both to keep an eye and make sure he didn't drown or get eaten by giant lake-sharks, and also (maybe more importantly) to choose his own path across the water...he did a super job at not getting drowned/eaten and making his own way...
Once we got way out into the lake, the wind picked up a bit, blowing Ben's boat around, and some motorboats cruised by, making waves...I attached a rope from my canoe to Ben's, which allowed me to keep him on track, while still allowing him paddle and work on his skills and strength...yes, I checked back on him often enough to make me feel like an owl...
Here's a sweet, sweet, over-the-shoulder shot of Ben paddling the boat right behind me...
We got to Green Island without mishap, landed, and made ready for lunch...here's Ben working the kinks out after our long paddle...
The grass is always greener on the other side of the picnic...Ben was positive that my sandwich was better...so we shared...
After lunch (long before the 1-hour waiting period was up), we went for a swim, it was warm, we were a bit sweaty from the paddle, and somehow, a surprising amount of PB&J had covered both of us...this hold-out pic was fun...
I think Ben had a better time on the picnic and swim because he had "earned" it through his effort in paddling out to Green...
On the way back, we paddled faster, and Ben had more confidence and style and poise...
We made it more than halfway back before a motorboat from Colgate Camp did a donut around us, and the wave-stravaganza made Ben a bit uncomfortable, so I tied on for the last bit of the paddle home...he still paddled the whole time, and mostly kept slack in the line (which means that I was providing psychological support rather than physical towing)...
Later in the afternoon, Wendy's cousin and her daughter came over to play and talk, each according to their strengths, and a good time was had by all, even Anti-Sarah, who got very wet .05 seconds after this picture was taken...
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