February was quickly coming to an end and we had not yet completed our February adventure. We had talked about going to Leavenworth, but never really committed to the trip as we looked up hotel costs and weather temperatures. We were hesitant because with Wesley and Autumn being so little, we were unsure if sledding was really a good idea.
As last weekend approached, I realized that Leavenworth was probably not going to happen and we were left with exactly NO more weekends. Jen and I had set out to have an adventure every month. We had completed January with the snowy owls and could NOT let our New Year’s Promise go down the drain as soon as one month later!
At this point I told Steve to get online and search “free things to do in Washington.” The search resulted in countless suggestions from random internet posters, but the one that caught our eye said, “Free boat rides on Lake Union every Sunday!” Hmm. This could meet the requirements of the monthly adventure. It was something we had never done, something we would NOT usually do, and something that sounded like an adventure! One quick text to Jen and the trip was planned!
We arrived at 10 a.m. and put our name on a list to board the vessel at noon. The boat could hold 17 passengers and we would officially take up 9 of those spots. When we got there the sun was shining and it seemed like it might be a great day. This quickly changed and, as it got colder and more miserable outside, Jen stated that maybe we should change the focus of our trips to be “what are the coldest things we can do in Washington this year?” :)
After we faced the fact that we would be cold, we realized it would only be one hour and we would survive. We obediently put on the required “life coats” as Steve calls them and climbed aboard the little sail boat.
Evan and Ivy held little mittens hands as the boat started moving. Jen and I laughed our heads off at the absurdity of what we were doing. We were freezing, the children were slightly fearful, but we were not turning around! (At least not until the older Skipper who kept making very boat-esque type comments told us we were turning around. His comments included things like, “the wind’s got her now!” “we are going to jibb our way back” “we’ve got wind today!” Jen and I were in love with his little accent, his little sailing suit, and his love of the water and the boat. As Jen said, if anyone was going to make sure our little crew was safe, it was definitely THIS guy!)
About 1/2 way through the ride the Skipper said if the wind kept up the way it was blowing, we were going to put down the sails and head back in. At the same time, he said that I could take poor Wesley down into the the bottom of the boat to get out of the blasted wind. I took him up on the offer and headed down a little ladder into the bottom of the boat (that is probably called something official, but I was too excited to find comfort for Wesley to pay attention). As I entered the under-boat world, I was in LOVE with the bottom of the boat. It was complete with a bunk bed, a little kitchen and a bathroom. It was not in the cleanest condition with pans and coolers and food and blankets and ropes and flashlights and buckets all over the place, but it was amazing! You could definitely imagine what it would look like in it’s glory as it protected some withered old sailors out on some journey across the sea. Jen and I joked about how the Skipper would have reacted if I came up after the short boat ride and he found his little vessel completed organized (I tell you the thought crossed my mind…), but I didn’t touch anything, I just sat there in awe of our wonderful February adventure!
1 comment:
Oh my, this is just so YOU. I cannot stop giggling. Water Fun! for sure!
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