Happy Canada Day

Sometimes things work out better when they are not planned.  I know this to be true on so many levels.  Today was one of those fine examples.  The morning started off hot right away, and after an early morning chat with Michelle and Jack who were in Newfoundland, I found myself wondering what to do.  After a long couple of coffees on the deck, a shower, breakfast and some surfing of the web.. Terry and I decided to hit the garden at the Amos Estate to pick some pesky potato bugs before the day got too hot.  Terry started packing up the car with gloves, water.. etc... I put things away in the house.  The phone rang and caller ID showed me that it was Bill looking for a golfing buddy.. or so I thought...  Instead, it was Bill and Robin wondering where we were going to paddle today!

 What a brilliant idea... and within 30 minutes we had the kayaks mounted, the crate packed, a snack, the sunscreen, water bottles and Lucy walked!   We headed off to Shannon River, to see if we could actually put our kayaks in again.  We just never know what the water level is going to be like, and there were some beautiful spots that we wanted to show Bill and Robin, and a couple of other spots that we wanted to try and get to.  (Well, not me.. Terry wanted to get to them!).

Bill was the star of the day though.  First off, he brought a big kick ass Canadian Flag which I never would of thought of.  We joked about the calm waters of Shannon River and the flag taking a spill.  We all joked knowing that if we hadn't spilled over at the Shubie, this little tame river was not going to topple anyone.

 Before long, we found ourselves at a familiar little speedy channel between mini lakes.  Last time we were there, I just couldn't get over the small hump of water.  It was just too powerful.
Today, Terry paddled over it with ease, making us all think we could do it... so Bill went second.  He paddled for all he was worth and didn't get over it the first time, but after a small rest and to catch his breath, he attempted it again, taking a different route!  The second attempt was like a slow motion comedy act... he weaved, waved, and went sideways and went under!  Our beautiful canadian flag went under water for the first time today!

 Bill spilled out, and stood up and fought the current and walked over the hump.... and that sealed the deal for me. I wasn't even going to try paddling over it again.. forget that.  I paddled across the fast moving water to get to where Terry was, and I got out.  No easy feat in speedy waters.  The video I have posted (if I did it right) will show you how easy Terry makes this look... but rest assured... it was not.

Terry makes it look easy

Found my rope tangled in a lily pad, very close to where we started our trip...

The sun was hot, the breeze was wonderful and we paddled all the way to the dam for McGill Lake.  The waters were quite fast and full of rocks so we had to do some exciting manoeuvring. We got as close as we could and then pulled over for a quick photo break..  This was not an easy feat to get us all in the picture, but thanks to Robins quick moves, we got a couple!

We started back but it wasn't long before our Canada Flag (and Bill) took another spill.   This time, Bill walked his kayak down to a little peaceful spot, and tried his hardest to get in, and then we were off for a little bit.  We found a great little quiet spot and stopped for a snack and a few pictures and then the paddle back.  We were taken back down the river with the flowing water and the wind... it was a dream float.  We did have to look for my rope which went floating down the fast river during a failed attempt at pulling my kayak up over the speed bump!

A quiet spot for a snack... on our way back down the river.

Just around the bend from the dam for McGill Lake.  Lots of turbulence.

Robin and Bill