Tom Bol over at Canoe
and Kayak Magazine, one of my favorite paddle mags to be sure, tells us about his dream trip paddling with kids. He takes the younguns way down south to
Mexico where they thrive in the sunshine, take their potty breaks outside, but otherwise have a delirious time paddling
around cerulean seas. To be honeest, the thought of paddling with kids seems daunting to me. What if they drown? What
if they get eaten by sharks? Such are the sentiments, I guess of a new dad. But they make it OK, after all, and even
get to stretch their green muscles a bit by staying a the EcoMundo, "the perfect base camp" for exploring
nearby Conception Bay. I’m a big-time baja fan and have spent a fair amount of time down there, but I haven’t paddled
much. Seems like I should give it a try.
Intergenerational Travel
MSN went digging when they found this piece which originally appeared in Travel Leisure’s April 2003 issue and I can’t think of a better travel related topic to revive than traveling with grandparents. While we may have mentioned family travel directed towards parents and their children we never touch on intergenerational travel. The article points out 35 percent of grandparents traveled with a grandchild in 2001, up from 29 percent the previous year. Not sure what the stats look like for the more recent years, but if you’ve got a granny and a grandpa why not surprise them with a specially created vacation without your parents this summer? There are several outfitters that cater to grandparents looking to travel with grandkids and trips include bike rides through Holland from Elderhostel.org, river rafting in Alaska provided by Grandtravel, and summer retreats at Great Camp Sagamore to name only a few.
If my grandparents were still around I’d most certainly take to the streets or explore the off-the-beaten-track just hear stories of the golden yesteryears. Think – a little bit adventure, history, and family packaged together for one grand ole’ time. Talk about an experience!
Spring Splash at the NOC
Paddling fans on the East Coast might be interested
to know that the annual Spring Splash is taking place right
now and into this weekend at the wonderful Nantahala Outdoor Center
(fondly known to most simply as NOC). The event heralds in a mighty fine and quite wet spring when the rivers
promise to gush with white water, or so we hope.
The Spring Splash is all about getting your head into the
paddling mindset and maybe picking up some equipment along the way. Need a new boat? New spray skirt? Well, you can go
and chat up the manufacturers of all your favorite gear and learn more about their latest and
greatest. And if you hang out tonight, you can catch this Friday evening footage from the winning entries at this
year’s National Paddling Film Festival.
Montreal for the Aquatically Inclined
It’s not so often that one finds a world class adventure river splicing through a world class city of
culture. But, as Eve Glasberg reports in The New York Times, Montreal is one amazing place that is blessed
with both.
Visitors to this French Canadian city can not only indulge in fine museums, galleries and outstanding restaurants,
but they can also don wet suits and enjoy either the wild St. Lawrence River or the tamer Lachine Canal.
A number of tour operators, such as Les Descentes sur le St.-Laurent,
offer white water aficionados both rafting and jet boat tours of some gnarly rapids (anyone know the French word for
gnarly?). Water lovers who prefer the more prosaic, can opt for kayaks and
pedal boats on the smooth waters of the nearby Lachine Canal. The nine-mile canal
was constructed in 1825 with the sole purpose of detouring ships around the aforementioned rapids that have now become
such a tourist attraction. The canal was closed in 1970 (after the St. Lawrence Seaway opened) and then converted
into a recreational boating park in 2004.
As an added bonus, the canal is lined with a bounty of parks and bike trails. In fact, Montreal has over 200
miles of bike trails. This is why, as Glasberg points out, Bicycling Magazine has awarded it the very
best bicycling city in North America.
Peddle or paddle, Montreal is definitely worth a visit.
Paddling the Hudson?
As work has picked up lately, encroaching even on
weekends, I have started to think about big trips, things I want to do once things let up and I can head out for a week
or so of unencumbered bliss. One trip I have been considering is a paddling excursion down the
this will take. Someone told me about five days if I take it easy…which I probably will. That is just one idea I
have. I’d love to know if anyone out there has ever done this trip and has advice on the best time to undertake it, the
best resources for research, etc. post a comment if you’re able.