Ben's Kayak!

Today was Ben's last day of school (mine too), and we celebrated by going out for lunch at Mountain Mist (fried food followed by ice cream...we shared the cones with the ducks who came by while we were eating), and then a trip to a local boat shop to pick up a B en-sized kayak!

It's an early birthday present from his grandparents, Muz and D, and he was very excited...we had a couple of models to choose from, but ended up going with the Acadia Scout, by Perception, a small kayak that isn't a toy...


We brought it over to Upper Saranac Lake and put it (and my Hornbeck) into the water for a short trial paddle...


The boat is light and fast and maneuverable, and he got comfortable with the boat very quickly...


Miles was nervous about us being in boats without him, so he tried first to climb into Ben's kayak, and then my canoe...it didn't phase Ben...it almost tipped me over when he tried to climb in the back of my boat...I got laughing so hard I almost went in on my own...


We started off with a quick paddle around a nearby float...


Ben quickly got the hang of paddling the boat, turning and exploring with ease in a few minutes...


We came back to the shore and adjusted his PFD a bit before a longer paddle...


It was a beautiful afternoon on the water!


We paddled over towards Green Island, only turning around when the wind picked up a bit...I didn't want Ben's first real paddle to end in frustration, so we just loafed our way back along the shore...


Miles was quite worried about us the whole time, jumping in to greet us when we got close to him again...It was a superb way to start our summer vacation!