The Kayak Burrito

It's a sad day for Big Purple. She's been winterized, thanks to a giant waterproof painter sheet and my step brother, Antoine, to help wrap. Big Purple is now a 16.5' black burrito and will gaze longingly at the pond next to our house in Boston, for the next year:

We've had some epic times together recently, but now it's time for me to do a year of terrestrial wandering in the Netherlands! I was going to say "drier wandering" but then reminded myself of the weather forecast. It's even hard to say "terrestrial" when most of the country is below sea level. Hey, maybe it won't be that different.

Flight departs for Iceland this evening, where my mom and stepdad will stay for the week. We'll go look at some puffins for a few hours before I get on my flight to Amsterdam!

Canoeing the Sudbury River

My little brother's high school graduation in June brought me back to Boston for a long weekend. As usual, my visit home provided my mother and stepfather the opportunity to ask boat-related questions and favors. Last time it was "can you help us buy canoe paddles?" This time it was "can you fix the canoe seats? My brothers and I spent an afternoon measuring and drilling holes in the new canoe seats, bringing the old green canoe back into service.

Moeke (= "mom" in Flemish) and I took the boat on it's maiden voyage, version 2,  down the Sudbury River near our house in Lincoln, MA. Here's a map:

To be honest, it's been so long since we did this short paddle that I can't remember much more. Oops. But here's my mother in her funny hat :)

Glimpses of a Pond in Autumn

Just wanted to share a few pictures of the fall foliage around the pond behind our house in Lincoln, MA.

  

 

I love fall... Just wanted to add another water-related post since kayaking has been MIA lately. Canadice Lake this weekend!

Wandering around South Uncanoonuc Mountain

A few miles south of Goffstown, NH are a pair of nearly identical mountains (3 ft elevation difference) called the Uncanoonucs, which is apparently native american for women's breasts - it's quite fitting. Tonight Chris, Jed, and I hiked up the South Mountain.

The hike up passed by a serene wetlands area and Uncanoonuc Lake with a big rock in the middle where people were swimming. Note to self: return with a bathing suit! The next part of the trail (Incline Trail) was a straight shot up to the top-- none of us had ever seen such a direct/steep trail up a mountain before. At the top we had a great view, and could see the Boston skyline 50 miles away!

We didn't have too much trouble finding our way up, but on the way down we meandered all over the place on trails that definitely weren't on the trail map, and ended up hiking up the mountain twice... That was alright by me, however, because the power lines guided us home, and we discovered copious amounts of blueberries along the way! What a lovely way to spend a Wednesday afternoon.