Canoe

The weather was incredible this weekend, and we had to choose from hiking or canoeing. I hadn’t gotten Jess out on the water yet and so I pushed for a canoe trip. Fortunately, she was game. We decided to stay close to home and simple; we put in on Quaboag Pond, in Brookfield, less than a half mile from our house. Jess hadn’t been in a canoe since she was a child, so she was a bit nervous at first but it didn’t take long for her to realize how stable of a platform it was as long as the water was calm. ...

This past weekend, I took ownership of a genuine “beater” pick-up truck. This truck is old enough to drive, and it looks it. But it can do one thing our family SUV can’t — handle a canoe atop it. The white sections are metal trim my father-in-law and I fastened to the body to make it pass inspection. The truck used to be his, and when he took it off the road I gave it a new home. I don’t know how long it will last, but a summer of canoe trips will be worth the cost of insuring it. ...