My birthday was yesterday, and I turned the ripe old age of 26! I remember being younger and thinking that 26 was the best possible age to be, because you were still in your mid-20's and young, but still old enough to have all the cool adult things like your own apartment and job and all that. Now, as reach that age, I'm hoping that it's all my teenage self thought it was cracked up to be. :)
As a celebration, I got to go out on a sailboat ride from Duluth to Two Harbors yesterday! S's Dad owns a 42' sailboat, and swallowing my nervousness settled down for a relaxing afternoon on Lake Superior!
Gus the Giraffe- finished except for attaching his pom-pom mane- took a quick tour of the boat before I threw him back into the car. :)
One of my favorite parts was possibly leaving the Duluth harbor.
Because there was close to no wind as we left, we had to gas up the motor and wait for the Canal Park lift bridge to go up. I've seen it countless times from the shore, but going under the bridge was a whole new experience!
After we got out of the harbor, the sails were hoisted:
and we set our course!
While leisure time is in abundance on a calm day like yesterday, there's always something to do on the sailboat. When S's Dad found out I could sew, he immediately put me to work wrapping the ends of some new ropes:
as well as teaching me how to properly tie a few sailor knots I hadn't done in climbing yet. Don't worry, I did get some leisurely down time, enjoying the coast line and keeping my fingers busy:
quite busy, actually:
It was a relaxing and fantastic day!
I was almost sad as we pulled into the harbor at Two Harbors, and got dropped off by the lighthouse at the end of the pier. We made sure to wave goodbye a few times:
before watching the boat head off on its course north, up to Tofte.
It was a very cool way to spend my birthday, and I'm super grateful to S and his Dad for offering the opportunity to me! Afterwards was dinner, wine, and more relaxation time. All in all, a great birthday and chance to relax before more working and the craziness of a month-long vacation.
1 comment:
After all the bad weather comments, you get a sunny calm day! At your age I would've enjoyed Lake Superior being more mischevious. Come to think of it, at your age I was still living on my sailboat in San Diego, where "light air" was common, and we once threw popcorn into the water to avoid doing "donuts" during a race (once you lose forward movement in light air, it's tricky to regain in without power, which is illegal in a sailing race :-) The popcorn trick worked, and when the wind came up at the end, that was the one race we crossed the line first (but lost to a boat with a bigger handicap rating). So thanks for reminding me of a rare very calm day on the water. My Lake Superior sailing memories have almost zero calm days in 'em.
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