A Hayley Vacation: Day Two

Tuesday arrives and I enjoyed my morning coffee while watching the mist rise off the river. What a beautiful sight!


Today has been declared a take-it-easy day after a day of travel. Rest and relaxation – I can’t wait. I finally catch up on my two-month backlog of magazines and letters, while answering a slew of work-related text messages. That behind me, I’m just about to nod for a nap on the river bluff when Kelly rouses me, saying, “Love, let’s go canoeing!”

It’s just the two of us, heading upstream on the somewhat swollen, fast-moving river. It’s been at least 15 years since I last canoed a river. Kelly proudly announces as we push off that he’s an excellent canoeist…on lakes.

We debated whether one can ever forget how to canoe before pushing off, me in front, Kelly steering. Thankfully, we haven’t forgotten our skills and I soon learn that Kelly is excellent at steering and I am excellent at deflecting large objects just before collisions.

We paddled for over an hour, travelling just over ½ mile upstream. We call it quits when we’re unable to defeat a particularly strong current in one section of the river.

It’s back to the cabin for a shower and a rest. I’m just about to nod off again when our friends return from another trip to the store (who would have expected to need toilet paper and coffee filters in a fully-stocked cabin?). Apparently, napping is not on the agenda for the take-it-easy day.

“My people” prepare dinner as I gave directions and critiques from a safe distance on the porch, huddled under a wrap. The cabin’s air conditioning works a little too well for my liking. As Stacie holds up a piece of squash for inspection, it suddenly falls to the ground. Chaos ensues with Stacie moaning, John grabbing and juggling hot squash and me dissolving in fits of giggles.

John returns to the porch, wiping his hands and says, “This had better not be on your blog.” Fat chance.

We wind the evening down with s’mores over a fireplace and a not-so-friendly reminder of work when I manage, for the 2nd time in as many weeks, to dump cold coffee grounds on my foot. Bother!

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