Canoe Trip Story-All Invited

[Changing4Best]

Billie didn't really get into those games, she was a tomboy through and through. She did smile at the lady though. (My phone won't let me spell your name, Farina, Dang spell check!)

Anyway, it was time to get ready to go, and she was excited. Adele was digesting all that she'd learned. She too was anxious to get out on the water too. They had come to enjoy themselves and she was sure they would.

 

[Farine]

Farine had that excited feeling whenever they were to go into the deeper waters beyond the moorings of civilization even as scant as a paved road and a diner. She made one last call to leave a voicemail on Robert's line... they were very good friends. Robert would swing by after work to pick up the truck and trailer with his wife and then be on call for others if they arrived.. Having done that thirty second chore, she watched Angelo steady the stern of the canoe on land.. his strong legs anchoring it so she could safely traverse the center of the canoe to arrive safely at the bow. She took a second or two to position herself on the boat cushion..

Angelo indeed had the canoe steady... the last few minutes while Farine had been talking to Adele was more than enough time to tidy up the truck bed and make sure the camp stove was with THEM.. he waved Bill and Adele with their lovely tomboy, college student Billie to their canoe.. Once Farine was settled.. he pushed off a little and then entered the canoe himself. He had their life jackets at each location. He was pleased she put on hers as a matter of course. He was busy donning his.. Their guests were familiar with canoes. There was no need to make any comment. Once they were launched as well, Angelo would point their canoe towards the horizon in the direction the map indicated their camping spot would be. There was plenty of daylight left to make that trek. And a bit of exercise and fresh air would make the evening's meal of fish tacos even more delightful.

 

[Changing4Best]

Yummy, fish tacos! Mom and Dad were paddling away while Billie chattered away happily. She found that she could call out to their outfitters and be heard, so she did so. "Hey! What we having with those tacos?" Mom used to make fish pies every year at Christmas, she recalled. "I wonder if these tacos will be anything like your fish pies, Mom?" She told their outfitters all about Mom's fish pies, how they had green bell peppers and onions and a flakey crust. Mom just smiled.

 

[Farine]

Angelo felt the burden of keeping the group of canoes oriented directly towards their goal, so kept adjusting their course to point squarely in the route planned. This left no room for conversation, unfortunately. He was pleased though that Farine was more than up to the task of participating in the dialogue with their guests. At intervals, he nodded .. still tracking what was being said. At some point, he would add his remarks.

When Farine noticed Billie was more than up for a chat, this sparked an earnest interest in them.. enough supportive responses present to let Billie know any and all topics were welcome. When Farine heard,

"Hey! What we having with those tacos?

this was an official inquiry to her in her outfitter role. “While supplies last, we have the makings of a great salad with hard boiled eggs, lettuce, tomato and dressing. We plan to roast corn on the cob over the coals of the fire. I like to peel back the leaves to put butter, etc. “ She heard about the recipe for fish pies. It clearly was highly rated. Maybe Adele could compare notes with Angelo. She was good at baking, but Angelo had the distinction of being, by far, the better cook.

 

[Changing4Best]

Adele was a bit shy, but explained that she didn't really cook by recipes, rather preferring to dabble in the kitchen. None the less, she admitted that a touch of white wine was called for, otherwise the pie would come out too dry. Also, she used dried cod in the recipe, soaking it for a few hours on Christmas Eve. She preferred a glass pie dish also.

 

[Farine]

As the canoes were crossing the lake, the wind was doing them a favor by blowing in from their backs, causing them to make better time as the wind pushed against their canoes and bodies above the lake's surface. It would not always be thus. Right now, they were making excellent time. Farine was listening as Adele shyly explained her family favorite recipe. The interesting part was starting from dried cod. Farine noted that Adele,

didn't really cook by recipes, rather preferring to dabble in the kitchen. None the less, she admitted that a touch of white wine was called for, otherwise the pie would come out too dry

That was her in the baking sphere.. measuring dry ingredients in a number of innovative ways. Her spark of chaos was definitely on display when her artisan bread making was fully in bloom. What was turning through her mind was, could some ingredients be swapped out and yet have something highly edible. For example, pie crust was just water, butter, salt and some flour. The fish.. she had confidence that Angelo and Bill could provide. She had a tin of other ingredients which Adele as a dabbler might fancy as substitutes. She was up for some experimentation. "Billie, how would you rate your Mother's fish pies on a scale from one to ten?" She asked the official taste tester of the three of them.

Angelo's smile quirked as he had a perfect view of his woman's body language as he paddled with her in an unison stroke towards the approaching shoreline. She was in her glory here. He just sat there and watched as she 'poured out'... this was what it was like to be around her... everything was interesting. Everything was worth peering into. Her thoughts were like a kaleidoscope of childlike wonder. Every time some event or situation got the better of him dragging him into some kind of frustrated space.. there was just a few minutes of looking at the world through her eyes.. albeit often as her clean up crew from various scrapes she got herself into... that righted him back into being as he preferred to be--a passenger alongside of her on this RIDE of going through life together. He could only imagine for this moment what all she was planning.. the thought bubbles over her head were nearly visible to him after all of this time spent around her. He might have to pop some of those bubbles. They were on duty. She might need a reminder.

 

[Changing4Best]

"Mom didn't know how to cook when she married Dad. (She smirked at her Dad.) All she knew was how to boil water, right Dad?" Dad smiled and explained that Adele had been busy working on her double Masters degrees in Math and English. That was when most girls learned to cook. He was proud of his intelligent wife. She had learned computers quickly and was working for General Electric Corp. They were on vacation, of course.

 

[Farine]

Angelo was surprised that Adele, for all of her shyness, had such treasures hidden in her heart and mind. His background was far more humble. He might divulge bits and pieces of it if pressed. He always admired those who could press through the layers of academia to get the brass ring of a Masters or higher. It made him a bit shy now himself around her. He was fascinated as well that Bill could be so forthcoming about the virtues of his wife. That was a plus in his eyes of Bill's character. Since all were on vacation, Angelo would do his level best to make sure the trip was fun and good and wholesome. He had heard one of their guests were fond of loons. There was a pair diving off to their right a few canoe lengths away. He got Bill and Adele's attention through using his paddle like an extended part of his arm to point them out. Maybe they'd have a better view since they were further right than he and Farine were. The shoreline was coming up fast and the map indicated they would follow it turning further right. Now they might see moose or turtles or even otters. Every trip was different.

Farine could relate to having to learn how to cook 'on the job'... she flashed a look of support to Adele. Turning to Billie... "WHat is your mother's favorite dish that she makes. And now that you've graduated from college, what sorts of things interest you?" She would keep an eye out as a navigator for submerged logs and other obstacles which the shoreline tended to produce.. She used her arm to indicate there were rocks jutting out from a tumble of boulders to their left that looked like they extended far into the depths.

Angelo was SO appreciative that she was still 'on the job' when it came to spotting hazards. He made a slight course correction and called out to Bill also in the back of their canoe to watch for it. As much fun as they were having, a tip might not be appreciated.

 

[TruthSeeker]

"Finally, we are here! It's getting late, so Mizzy help me get the canoe off the roof, and get it packed, Nia commanded. The two women, worked together, as if this was nothing new to them....and it wasn't. A canoe trip was something they did every year. It was their mother daughter trip. Nia called off the checklist of must haves,.....water....cooler....dry food............matches.......sleeping bags......phone......tent.....camera.........meds......while Mizzy visually made sure they were packed. "Looks like we have everything," yelled Mizzy! The floating cooler is attached to the back of the canoe, and cold drinks are an arms length away. I got most of our dry food, emergency flashlight and silverware in there, too!

"I'm so excited, Mizzy!" Can't wait to get on the water. Look! A bald eagle.....we have met our first acquaintance on this year's trip! exclaimed her Mom." They pushed the canoe in the water, with the cooler dragging behind, and the bald eagle led the way. Remember, we are packed for a five day trip. William is picking us up on Sunday at the Big Rock putout.

"Mom stop thinking about Sunday....," we need to hurry to get to the other side so we can make camp before sunset. It's too bad we got delayed getting out on the water," said Mizzy. With Nia in the front of the canoe, and Mizzy at the stern, they paddle in almost perfect synchrony.

Nia and Mizzy had been paddling their canoe hard and fast since they had left shore.... afraid they wouldn't make the other side of the lake in time to set camp and eat before there was no light. Mizzy vaguely thought she saw someone canoeing, way off in the distance but her eyes must be playing tricks at dusk. Mom, is there someone ahead of us?

 

[Farine]

Angelo's hearing picked up faint sounds behind them... He could have sworn he heard..

Mom, is there someone ahead of us?

In motioning for quiet... in the momentary stillness, he could verify there was someone else on the lake. Since he was known to be a loudmouth when he wanted to be, he boomed out, "You're welcome to join us. We're headed for Campsite #23 on your map! We'll have a fire started! "

Farine held her ears when he did that. IT WAS LOUD. She twisted in her seat to look at him.. Did some of their guests find them anyway? That was vastly reassuring.

Angelo's answering look was indeed reassuring. 'Make more fish tacos and corn on the cob. I'll help with the salad. " Now there was a need to push to set up camp to receive them as they likely were pushing the boundary between light and dark. He knew they'd make it with some time to spare.. But he also wished to set up a campfire. He called out more quietly to Bill who was relatively close.. "Bill, are you or anyone with you familiar with building fires? It would help when we hit the ground soon to get that started. "

 

[TruthSeeker]

Suddenly, we heard yelling ahead of us..... what sounded like "join us at campsite 23 and something about a fire"....."Mizzy, did you hear that? You know my hearing.....I didn't bring my hearing aids.....was afraid I'd lose them in the river."

"Don't you have the river map, Mom?"

"Just a sec......yep, here is campsite 23 on the map...that must be where they are going.....we don't have much light......but I think we will make it before dark. Paddle like there is no tomorrow! "
" I'm getting hungry....maybe they'll have some real food....instead of this freeze dried stuff we brought" moaned Mizzy.

"Look ahead!" It looks like a fire......Mizzy pointed and then the two women picked up the pace paddling.

 

[Farine]

The two groups of canoes made admirable progress. Campsite #23 was marked by a distinctive outcropping of rock. It looked like a boulder was set up by a giant toddler on top of another boulder. There was a sandy area next to it which led up to the level spot where tents clearly had been set up before. The campfire circle with its antiquated iron grate was at the top of the rise. This helped to make it visible for a long distance. Two venerable pine trees about twenty feet apart were already fitted with rigging to haul food up high and apart the regulated distance so bears couldn't snag a meal at their expense. The 'throne' with a complimentary roll of bargain basement toilet paper was also at the rise of the hill... but about thirty feet to the right. The last notable improvement to the site were improvised work surfaces which were nothing more than lashed saplings strung between trees at waist height. The crossbars were just fitted lengths of branches wedged together and held in place with cords. Other than that, Campsite #23 was the way God had made it at the dawn of creation.