Back in a canoe
This weekend we went canoeing for the first time since Mallory was born. I don’t know that I’m going to create a website for it, though.
Mallory, Irene, Vadim and I drove out to Lac La P�che on Saturday afternoon, after Mallory’s nap. La P�che is a big lake in Gatineau park. It’s dotted with day-use beaches and paddle-in campsites but it’s pretty enough, and filled with isolated bays for exploring and pretending you’re in actual wilderness, rather than 45 minutes drive from Ottawa.
We decided to rent a canoe to avoid the hassle of car rack, tying and hauling for what could have been a very short paddle indeed if Mallory wasn’t into it.
When Vadim came back from the hut, I was dismayed to see only two paddles. But before I could say more than “you’ve only got two paddles,” Irene had volunteered to take up the middle.
Now when I was a kid, the person in the middle always paddled. But I soon saw that she wasn’t entirely self-interested in volunteering not to work.
After a leisurely picnic lunch, we poured everything into the boat. Mallory was interested, and a bit excited. Since no one had had the time to go over the basics of canoe operation, it was a good thing that there was a grow-up with two free hands available to restrain her.
Off we went. Mallory settled down and our plans for five minute paddle between beach stops morphed. “So should I head for that point?” I kept asking, each time nosing the boat toward ever more distant landmarks.
Mallory just got more and more mellow. After about 45 minutes, she fell asleep. She’d already napped, though for a shorter than usual time.
So on we paddled, chatting, contemplating the scenery and generally loving the fresh air and the feeling of being on the water.
I think Mallory slept for an hour – and quite deeply too. At one point, Irene lifted her over the midthwart to reposition herself and Herself so that she could get some feeling back into her hip. Mallory did not wake.
She woke as we were heading back, but stayed mellow all the way back to the put-in.
The sun had warmed the water near the beach and Mallory was very much into being swirled around, her daddy as her own personal watercraft.
As the sun started to set we headed back to Ottawa, just in time to get Mallory to bed.
