PaddleFest

Foreman and I headed out last weekend with Italian and Smiley up to Palmer Rapids for some very needed R&R and CANOEING. I have missed paddling desperately and couldn't wait to get out on the water. We rented this boat from this crochety old guy across from Limeridge Mall that said he had a " no whitewater clause" in the rental agreement but after I explained to him that I've guided for 8 years he said we could do what we wanted (thank God!) As he's strapping the boat to the top of our Grand Prix he begins to tell me about how he had to replace the deckplate because that particular boat was the boat the people went over the dam with in Paris, ON. Why would you tell people that? That is not good publicity. So we promptly called it the Paris Death Boat for the entire trip...here it is.

After a 4.5 hour drive we got to this little sleep town of Palmer Rapids that reminded me of Water Valley. That night we had a great time staying up late, drinking and talking. Foreman was so happy that he drank and stayed awake (a rare triumph) and proceeded to try to light Sambuca in his mouth and Italian kept trying to stop him so that he wouldn't light his beard on fire. The next day it was still a little cold and wet so we went up to this cute little diner that Italian and Smiley have gone to for every breakfast on the long weekend since they've been married (which is 10 years). We had a great breakfast and it was still a little chilly so we took a drive to the Sierra Designs factory (like heaven!) and I bought a $130 rainjacket for $30 and Foreman and I both bought fleeces and Foreman got a great orange toque that Italian picked out for him. After our purchases we were all psyched to get out on the water. Even in our Mad River canoe with no knee pads. We had a great time playing at the bottom of Palmer Rapids practicing our ferries and eddy turns. We ran the second set too which was very technical with a lot of holes and fast moving water and Foreman did great. I portaged our canoe back up like I always did and all these Ontario people were so shocked a girl could portage her own 17' boat - that's right, I'm from the prairie!

That night little Narico arrived at our campsite along with his dad and another friend of Italian and Smiley's. They were great fun especially Narico who's 15 months and likes to "cheers" drinks all the time - he was great fun. We had a great night chatting away with old friends of Italian and Smiley's and new friends to us.

The next day we had another great breakfast in town before suiting up for our big day on the Lower Madawaska River. Smiley lent Foreman her wetsuit which was great because otherwise he would have completely frozen to death. We had great runs down all the rapids and it was really fun to paddle with people who are so positive and upbeat and like paddling as much as we do. There was one little "incident" where Italian led us down this really strange line that ended up with Foreman doing the most amazing high brace and me leaning on my low brace until I sank into the water but it was a great campfire story later that day and Italian was hilariously apologetic. All in all, it was a really wonderful weekend with great people and has completely solidified my belief that Foreman and I will continue to camp and paddle until we are old and grey (and still after that).