My mother has taken a few pictures of the kids and me paddling, but at the moment I don't have a good way to download them. I'll try to put some up by the end of the week.
This morning Joel and Ben manned the tandem kayak while I paddled along in my race boat. For me the intensity level was low, but the enjoyment of my nephews' company was high. We paddled about a mile from the house to a spit of land that serves as an airstrip for small planes, and back.
On the way back the tandem boat's rudder cable came loose from the left foot pedal, and Joel and Ben had to complete the trip rudderless. I coached them through it a little, but mostly tried to let them figure it out for themselves. They did fine until it was time to close the deal (i.e., land alongside the dock), but I'm happy to report that nobody was lost at sea.
Rachel still wanted a turn in the boat, so I quickly repaired the rudder cable and took her out in the tandem. We paddled out to the airstrip and back again.
I try my best not to get too maudlin or sentimental on this blog, but I have to say that I could not have asked for a better pair of nieces or a better pair of nephews. They may or may not ever develop my passion for paddling, but I don't care. They are smart and thoughtful and just plain delightful.
There are several offshore platforms visible from Dauphin Island on the Gulf side, and yesterday while Joel and I were swimming I wondered aloud whether they were oil derricks.
"Natural gas," Joel replied. "There aren't any oil deposits around here, but there are natural gas deposits."
How many fourteen-year-olds do you know who would actually know something like that? And the other three kids are just as interesting in their own ways. Yep... proud uncle. Gotta tell you.
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