Chez PLJ

My sister Patti and brother-in-law David and kids were up at the cottage and they decided to go tubing. Not much of a powerboater me, I spotted and also volunteer to take Austin out, which went okay, though I sensed some degree of relief on his part at the end of the ride.

So then the possibility of taking Jon out came up, and Jon said yes.

Now, Jon takes after Laura and me in his belief that kayaks, canoes and sailboats are cool, and powerboats are just noisy and stinky. So it was a big leap for him to decide to go out. He had no idea what he’d be up for.

We went for two runs (Jon on my lap), both of which he enjoyed and both of which ended in wipeouts. The first one was spectacular…we windowshaded so quickly I simply found myself four or five feet under, instinctively hoisting Jon to the surface (no need of course, since we were wearing our PFDs, but instinct does take over). After the second wipeout, he actually surfaced laughing, and now he pretty much thinks that you end a good tubing run by going for an exciting dunk!

So there we were, out in the middle of Georgian Bay, a long way from anywhere, and Jon is delighted, no sense of panic or worry, and both times announces that he wants to “swim back”. (It would have taken a while).

Along came the boat, and Jon’s only time of distress. He did not like climbing into the noisy, smelly boat though at the end, as we headed back, Jon looked up and around and realized “It’s like a car!”. He insisted that we arrive gracefully, however, so as the boat approached the dock, we jumped out and swam in to the beach. One has an appearance to keep up, doncha know.

Thanks to Grandpa and Uncle Dave for the new experience.