Our old friend, #25 Mohawk canoe, is on its way to a new home in West Virginia. Lee had the canoe before I met him. One of our first dates was a canoe trip on the Shenandoah River. It has stayed with us, resting on its perch in the backyard, since we got married and moved here to Oakton 13 years ago.
In the early years we would take canoe trips several times each spring and summer. But I think it was when I started doing RAGBRAI 9 years ago that we tended to neglect canoeing and began spending more of our time biking. I like the simplicity of grabbing a sandwich, filling the water bottle and jumping on the bike to head out the backyard for a fun time pedaling somewhere. It's so much easier than the effort involved in getting the canoe loaded on top of the car and lugging along all the gear that goes with it. Not to mention when you get home and are tired and everything is wet and muddy and you have to haul it back off the car, through the bushes, and down the slope into the backyard.
It will have a good home in West Virginia, staying in the family, too. Kelly and her husband are excited to get it and with two young boys I think it will get some good use in the years to come. Goodbye, old friend, and thank you for all the fun times paddling.
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