Canoe, Canoe

If you read that in a Robin Williams as Mork voice, you're awesome! If not, you're still awesome, but you did not read my mind. Don't worry. We'll work on it. : )

For the first time in our entire relationship, A.P. and I spent Labor Day weekend with each other. I wish I could tell you we blew our own minds with awesomeness and non-stop fun, but honestly, we just kind of went on some nice adventures and relaxed. Friday night, we went to dinner at a local favorite Real Tenochtitlan. It was delicious and low key, which was exactly what we needed. Saturday was more of the same, with a long, chill, restful day that was spent finishing up Big Love (so good, but so sad it's over) and hanging on the couch with the hubz and the animals. Monday was spent putting a fence up around the garden, for which A.P. kindly volunteered his free labor (on Labor Day! Some husband, huh?). But Sunday, Sunday was spent leisurely canoeing down the Kishwaukee River.

A while back I picked up a Groupon for a canoe trip for two in Rockford, a city about 90 minutes outside of Chicago. We picked up some sandwiches, packed some drinks and nectarines and headed out on our little adventure. We also loved that we got to take Radar. We were running late because we're Marty and A.P., or rather I'm Marty, so when we got there, the group was being taken to the launch site. We jumped in a vehicle with one of the employees and drove a few miles to the boat launch.

The trip was 8 miles long, but you could go at any pace you wanted, stop at any of the little banks and get out and pretty much do whatever you wanted along the way. We saw a lot of people early on getting out on little stretches of sandbar, setting up barbecues, and chilling out for a while. The river itself was pretty shallow in parts, so it was hilarious to both get stuck on a sandbar and watch others get stuck and struggle to get unstuck. At one point, we took a break to stretch our legs and stopped at a little stretch of shore. A.P. went exploring and discovered that just beyond the overgrown plants, there was a waterfall (which lacked a lot of water) and stairs to a pretty overlook. So we got to do some exploring/hiking, too. Total, the trip took us about four or five hours. We were one of the last groups to get back, though, probably because we stopped so much to get out and explore. Nevertheless, it was a lovely afternoon and I'd adore it if you'd allow to me share some pictures of our little adventure.

I promise A.P. is not peeing in this picture. He was checking out the giant stump. As were we all. As we were all.

Yes, we are both wearing stripes. It seems we think we're sailors.Peek-a-boo!This is a terrible picture because despite the shallowness of the river, you do move pretty fast if you don't row. And I was steering, so it was especially hard to stop rowing and take pictures. BUT this is a Great Blue Heron! Cool, huh?

(Photos by me!)