Our Morning Adventure
Last week, our two older kids went to camp with our church youth group. That left poor Blake at home, alone with just his mom, his dad, Koda the dog, and a couple of chickens. Oh the tough times that kids go through these days.
To ease the pain just a tad, Blake and I decided to take the canoe out early one morning and spend some time fishing and cooking breakfast on the lakeshore. We live just four miles or so from the Savage River Dam. It's a beautiful "no motors allowed" three hundred and sixty acres of deep water with steep, rocky banks and lots of fingers and coves.
I got up early and built a cup of coffee and enjoyed some quiet time in my rocker. I woke Blake as soon as it started to get daylight. We had loaded up the truck the evening before and mixed up some pancake batter and put it in a Ziploc bag, so we were pretty much ready to go. As we headed down the road we saw a deer. A little further along a turkey crossed the road. Blake said, "wouldn't it be neat if we saw a bear yet?" Well, believe it or not, a little further down the road a good sized black bear crossed the road right in front of us. Now that doesn't happen everyday!
We loaded up our canoe and started paddling towards where we wanted to fish. We had paddled about a half mile when we noticed a beaver swimming along the edge. We paddled as quietly as possible towards him. When we were closer than he liked, he smacked his tail on the water and disappeared for a couple of minutes. We decided right then and there, that if we didn't catch any fish, we would still call it a good day.
We paddled and fished our way to one of our favorite coves. For some reason the fish didn't seem to be biting. We caught one smallmouth and some fat, keeper bluegill, but that was about it. As we were getting hungry we pulled the canoe up on shore and got out our cooking gear. Blake has a six inch cast iron frying pan that he wanted to try, and so we took it. We started out making some pancakes. I'll have to say, with Crisco to fry them in and some maple syrup to pour on top, and a couple of fresh fish on the side, that frying pan made a breakfast that was fit for a king!
After we ate, the wind picked up, making it harder to fish. We had enough big bluegill for supper so we headed back to the truck. With the wind blowing in our face, paddling was difficult, but eventually we made it to the truck and headed home. I took some time and gave Blake a lesson on fileting fish. It was the first time I had let him try doing that, and he did a good job, and didn't lose any fingers.
And that was our morning adventure. Nothing really exciting but a real good morning just the same, one that we'll probably remember and cherish for at least a little while.
Sometimes mini vacations don't seem like they are worth taking the time and hassle to make happen. We all dream of those big, weeklong adventures. Often it just seems impossible to make a big adventure happen and so then we give up and let the summer pass us by. Even the little things like an early morning fifteen minute hike in a park and then stopping to enjoy a cup of coffee, can be rewarding. Or better yet, try packing a bagel and some blueberry flavored cream cheese, and finding a small stream to sit beside while enjoying a few minutes of quiet and eating your breakfast. Or if you're not a morning person, take the time to watch the sun set. Actually sit down and watch it happen.
When it comes right down to it, it's very worthwhile. Often those mini vacations give you the bigger bang for the buck. On top of that, it's a great time to dream and prepare for that bigger adventure!
