Lesson #2. Give longer canoe sailing lessons to said exchange student before handing him the sail controls during wind gusts.
Lesson #3. Wear whatchamacallem thingies to secure glasses to face when taking a supposed fun and easy canoe trip down a higher than usual (almost freezing cold) river while camping.
Lesson #4. Do not hit rock after successfully negotiating shallow rapids (we were informed they were a "low 2" on a scale of 1 (calm pond) to 6 (certain death) on white water difficulty ratings--see #7). Note: said exchange student present, but not to blame. Lesson #5. Stay out of range of other club wielders, er, paddlers when trying to beach canoe.
Lesson #7. Do not tell other passing canoers about your woes while you are still dripping, ESPECIALLY writers of canoeing and kayaking columns for over ten years.
Lesson #8. Make sure roads to pick up point have not been closed.
Lesson #9. Do not pass by daughter waiting dutifully to pick us up where she said she would because we didn't recognize her without glasses.
Total damage: camera, watch, two pairs of glasses and one pair sunglasses, painful bruise over left eye, severely damaged dignity, sore shoulders from carrying canoe half a mile, confirmation of Julie's unstated thoughts that her mother (responsible for all except #2) really belongs on slapstick comedy team.
Gains: Wisdom (maybe), experience, recovered paddles and shoes, dry camera (foresightedly (amazing) sealed in a ziplock bag) with partial visual record, basic paddling lesson from experts, experience taking apart and drying out cell phone (HaHa benefited most from this).
It might also be said that we saw spectacular vistas of Mount Rainier and flower bursting alpine meadows, deep silent woods, and sunshine lighting the leaf tips 
and sparkling the waters on several hikes. Eric and Bruce had a lovely 20 mile, uneventful but spectacular overnight hike from near Paradise down to Silver Falls, while we spent 1.5 hours trying to start a campfire with damp wood so we could eat something. We also learned that vegetarian hot dogs taste horrible, and that vegetarian patties have egg in them, and that our poor Hindu (non-meat and non-egg eating) exchange student from India is a good sport about all that. We returned home grubby, ready for real food, eager to sleep comfortably, and most importantly--alive! Most unforgettable lesson learned--respect Mother Nature!
and sparkling the waters on several hikes. Eric and Bruce had a lovely 20 mile, uneventful but spectacular overnight hike from near Paradise down to Silver Falls, while we spent 1.5 hours trying to start a campfire with damp wood so we could eat something. We also learned that vegetarian hot dogs taste horrible, and that vegetarian patties have egg in them, and that our poor Hindu (non-meat and non-egg eating) exchange student from India is a good sport about all that. We returned home grubby, ready for real food, eager to sleep comfortably, and most importantly--alive! Most unforgettable lesson learned--respect Mother Nature! 
2 comments:
I need to hear "the rests of the story". Obviously a LOT happened after we left Friday pm!!! (Did you check out our TAME events on my blog???) Lisa
Sounds like you had an adventure! Wow!
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