Usually when someone from the Coast Guard tells you it is too dangerous to go boating you should listen. That is what we were told when we got to the shore of Lake Superior for our kayaking adventure to the Apostle Islands. Five of us went; three of us had never been on a kayak before; one of us was wheelchair bound; and the Coast Guard said the 4 foot waves were too big to be safe. But we had driven over 12 hours in the last day to get to the shore so we could boat to Oak Island and camp for a few days. So we decided to venture into the water to see how bad things were. If they were too dangerous we would turn back. Too dangerous? Again, three of us had never been in a kayak and really wouldn't know "too dangerous" unless we capsized our boats. Happily we paddled along in 4 foot waves for the next 4 miles/2 hours and made it too our campsite. Fortunately the waves and wind were going in our direction and if we would have turned back it would have taken us many more hours to get back to the car. We were safe and only later did the only experienced boater in the group tell us that he hadn't been that worried about capsizing in a long time. Ignorance is bliss I guess.
My friend John invited me on a camping/kayak trip to northern Wisconsin several months ago. I told him I would go and later invited Emma to go with us as well. Emma took a few days off school and we boated, camped and hiked. It really was a wonderful experience to be with Emma and to spend a few days in one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The only thing that would have made it better is if I would have had my other girls (especially Karen) with me as well.
