Our friends have an inflatable boat, an Achilles zodiac style boat. Out of the blue Nick asked if we could borrow it so we could take the girls to the little caves on the Washburn coast of Lake Superior. Lilly had a birthday party to go to that day, so we picked up the boat from Tim and Elizabeth's garage before the party in case Nick needed my help and so Lilly could keep Greta distracted (she read instead).
After we brought the boat home, Lilly and I rushed off to the pool birthday party while Nick and Greta got us all set to launch. Unfortunately as the afternoon wore on, the winds picked up, so any chance to swim in the caves was diminished and odds of the girls liking the boat ride also diminishing with the waves increasing.
Greta and Nick were already at the boat launch getting things set when Lilly and I met them there. The boat wasn't super easy to assemble, but Nick managed to get the boat put together, we got it in the water and away we went!
There are really neat caves along this stretch but it was too wavy to swim in them. It was pretty hot though, so when we got back to the boat launch, we dipped in the water. There is a new sandbar from the big storm, which was perfect for the girls to swim and run around on.
Lilly snagged the camera and took this pretty good picture of the boat and then this great selfie!
The island is fairly narrow, so we were going to find a path to walk to the other side. The problems: no one knew exactly where the cut through was and the island had quite a bit of poison ivy. We decided it wasn't worth it, and just walked along the shore for awhile and turned back.
Greta kept informing us while we were having a wonderful time at the island she was going to swim back. It is about five miles from the boat launch to Long Island, so that wasn't really an option. Eventually we convinced her that Tim would go slower and we built her a fort. This seemed to help. While she and Nick sat on the floor, they chatted some. She asked him if she was light weight, so we were able to figure out part of her fear was that she too would fly out of the boat.
Lilly and Nick swam through the cave together and back.
After we brought the boat home, Lilly and I rushed off to the pool birthday party while Nick and Greta got us all set to launch. Unfortunately as the afternoon wore on, the winds picked up, so any chance to swim in the caves was diminished and odds of the girls liking the boat ride also diminishing with the waves increasing.
Greta and Nick were already at the boat launch getting things set when Lilly and I met them there. The boat wasn't super easy to assemble, but Nick managed to get the boat put together, we got it in the water and away we went!
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| We brought Greta a cupcake from the party. She just ate the frosting. |
There are really neat caves along this stretch but it was too wavy to swim in them. It was pretty hot though, so when we got back to the boat launch, we dipped in the water. There is a new sandbar from the big storm, which was perfect for the girls to swim and run around on.
Lilly snagged the camera and took this pretty good picture of the boat and then this great selfie!
The next day we made plans with our friends Tim and Elizabeth to go out with them on their motorboat. It was another hot day, so we decided to boat out to Long Island (technically no longer an island, as sediment has filled in to the mainland, but we will still call it an island) and have a picnic. When we arrived at the boat launch, our friends Matt and Monica were there as well. Their three children were at Matt's parents' house, so they were without kids. The perfect child to adult ratio - two kids and six adults!
As we headed out to the island, Elizabeth's hat blew off. This completely ruined the boat experience for Greta. Completely and utterly. While we were able to stop the boat, go back, and pick it up, no harm, but it freaked Greta out. She cried the entire way to the island and had a death grip on my hat, alternating between asking where Elizabeth's hat was and letting us know she wanted to turn around. Luckily it was only about a ten minute ride out to the island, so she didn't have to be upset for too long.
It was a perfect day to be on the water and at the island. We spent a few hours at the island, swimming and snacking. Lilly really wanted to catch a minnow (there were many in the water) and we learned she has amazing delegating skills. She proposed some ideas for what we could build to catch them, and from there on, for the rest of the time we were at Long Island, someone was trying to catch minnows. Monica even fashioned an amazing net with a stick, some grass, and an empty orange bag!
The island is fairly narrow, so we were going to find a path to walk to the other side. The problems: no one knew exactly where the cut through was and the island had quite a bit of poison ivy. We decided it wasn't worth it, and just walked along the shore for awhile and turned back.
Greta kept informing us while we were having a wonderful time at the island she was going to swim back. It is about five miles from the boat launch to Long Island, so that wasn't really an option. Eventually we convinced her that Tim would go slower and we built her a fort. This seemed to help. While she and Nick sat on the floor, they chatted some. She asked him if she was light weight, so we were able to figure out part of her fear was that she too would fly out of the boat.
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| I love our lake!! |
Nick's parents were coming up that afternoon when we got home (they beat us by a few minutes) so we made plans with Matt, Monica, Tim, and Elizabeth to go out to dinner together. We met them in Bayfield (they went back out in the boat to Basswood Island near Bayfield) and had dinner and great conversation without interruption. It was wonderful!
The Achilles was still in our garage and we were eager to go out again and see if Greta would be comfortable on that boat over the bigger motor boat. She wasn't super eager to get on the boat but it was pretty calm water and Lilly's excitement helped quell her nerves. But we had to go slow. V-E-R-Y slow.
While it took us awhile, we were able to go and explore more of the caves and swim in them. It was pretty cloudy and cool, so we didn't swim as much as we planned. We were all shivering but had a great time exploring.
Thanks for putting up with this long, out of sequence post. Hopefully we have many more lake adventures in front of us before the water gets too cold!
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