Labor Day: Paddling at Chester Frost

Last week I wrote about our unexpected cousin's weekend thanks to Hurricane Hermine. To be honest, it's hard to believe that it has only been a week since my niece and nephew went home to Florida.

Over the last seven days, we dove head first into school, fall soccer and swim lessons, and it's been a little hectic around here as we find our groove.

Labor Day was one of the first government holidays that Daniel has had off in quite a while (as I wrote on Monday, he has been working a lot of over time over the course of the last three years), and even with extra kids visiting, we knew that we wanted to do something fun as a family.

Initially we thought we would go for a hike, but my nephew, Levi, kept talking about kayaking. I'm not sure what planted this seed, but it was all that he talked about.

Earlier this year we purchased a Perception Tribe 3-person kayak, and it has been one of our best purchases. Even with little ones, we have used it a ton this summer (we also own a canoe, but it isn't as stable for paddling with small children).

We love the Perception Tribe because you can sit in the middle and paddle solo, or we can easily get out on the water as family of four (and sometimes our dog, Sophie, gets a ride too). And in this case, one adult and three kids had no problem taking it out on flat water.

We decided to go to Chester Frost lake on Labor Day because there is a sandy beach with a good launching point, and the water is shallow enough for the kids to swim when they weren't paddling.

Our crew had a blast, though more than paddling they loved to see how much seaweed they could collect in the bow of the boat. And jumping off the kayak to float in the deep water (seaweed free) was a hit too.

As parents, we have learned to follow the lead of the kids. We want them to have a good time, and if that means collecting seaweed, so be it.

Or in Isaac's case, if he just wants to spend the day sitting in the shade, snacking, we can live with that too.

Isaac has actually gotten a lot better about being out on the water.

He doesn't detest his life jacket any more and as long as he is sitting in the back of the boat he is good to go – he still hates being in the front for some reason.

Flat water paddling at Chester Frost with four kids was no big deal. We picked up lunch on the way and arrived early enough in the day that it wasn't too crowded. If you are looking for a place to swim or take kids paddling for the first time, I would definitely recommend Chester Frost.

When Isaac is a little bigger, we plan to do some overnight paddling trips, taking both our kayak and canoe with us.

2016 Canadian Vacation: Paddling Lake Simcoe

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I mentioned in yesterday's post about our desire to be near water for this vacation. Kids, water and sand are always a good combination. We also love to paddle, so we were leaning toward taking our kayak. The little cottage we rented turned out to be perfect in this regard.

In addition to being in close proximity to a rail trail that connected us to town, we were perched right on Shingle Bay at the top of Lake Simcoe. Lake Simcoe is the biggest lake in Ontario and it was absolutely beautiful. I still can't get over how clear the water was.

To the left of us was the OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) training campus and the Oro-Medonte Rail Trail. So basically, just woods. To the right was one additional house (the people who owned our cottage), and to the right of them was a summer camp.

The campers spent a part of each morning and afternoon playing in the water (swimming, kayaking, paddle boarding, etc.), but they weren't much of a bother. In fact, they were pretty entertaining. For the most part, we had Shingle Bay to ourselves.

We were actually pleasantly surprised at how little water traffic there was.

Our section of the bay had a perimeter of about two miles, so it was pretty ideal for kayaking. And since it was fairly shallow, we felt comfortable taking our kids out with us, even though it was a huge lake.

We were able to paddle individually and take Jack out for longer periods. And we even managed a couple of trips with all four of us. Thankfully Isaac is coming around to the idea of being on the water.

During the course of the week, my parents stayed with us for a couple of nights. We had them them watch our boys and we enjoyed a mini paddling date at 10pm one evening. It was so nice to enjoy the serene setting, just the two of us. Unfortunately it was cloudy, so there wasn't much in the way of stars, but the temperature was cool and it was so peaceful. A perfect late night date for us.

A while back, Daniel purchased a sail for our kayak for about $20. It arrived just in time for our trip. He has been talking about his desire to try to attach a sail to a kayak for years, so he was thrilled to finally try it out.

He went out a couple of times by himself, letting the wind blow him across the bay. And was even able to take Jack out with him. 

Jack wasn't so sure about sailing at first, but ended up having a really fun time with his dad. I have yet to try the kayak with the sail, but loved being able to go out on the water on a daily basis just the same.

On one excursion with Daniel, it was so peaceful that Jack actually fell asleep with his legs hanging off the side of the kayak. Right in the middle of the bay for about 20 minutes! 

Like biking, having plenty of opportunities to practice skills like paddling was an extra perk of this vacation. Jack is really getting more and more adept at handling his own paddle. 

I took him out at dusk on our last night at the cottage. It was a delightful way to end the week, just me and my big boy.

This trip had so many things we loved. It was really a great get away for our family and we have many memories. I can't wait until Isaac is a littler older and can enjoy more of the activities. For now he is content as long as food is involved!

Video showcases a bit of Jack's paddling abilities (remember he is only four), and a snippet of Daniel sailing.

Mother's Day Paddling Excursion

For me, Mother's Day is about doing something I love with the people that I love most. And not cooking is pretty important too!

We recently purchased a new-to-us kayak (a 3-seater Perception Tribe 13.5 T) that we have been anxious to take for a spin. It's kind of hard to believe that the last time we paddled, I was 39 weeks pregnant.

We have taken Jack out in our canoe on several occasions. The first time he was 11 months old. We tried again when he was 2.5 taking him to Wolftever Creek and also to the Bat Cave on Nickajack Lake. With each subsequent trip, Jack has shown more confidence and skill than the last time.

At age 4.5, this paddling excursion was his best trip by far. It helped tremendously that he had his own paddle – something he had been asking for since our last trip. Next up he might find himself with his own vessel.

Anyways, with Isaac being one already, I felt like it was time to take him out on the water. As parents, our basic philosophy is to introduce our kids to the things we love, as early and as quickly as possible because we have every intention of taking them with us on longer and more adventurous excursions as they get bigger.

The thing with kids is that you have to be ready to adjust your plans on the fly. You have to commit to doing the activity, even if it means that you might spend four hours preparing and 15 minutes actually doing it. 

You also have to know (and be ok with) calling it quits. You do all of this knowing that on the next trip you will go further and longer than the time before, and that endurance will come and a love of the outdoors and adventure will only happen with time.

With that knowledge we loaded our kayak and boys and headed down our mountain and across town to the base of Lookout Mountain where we would paddle on the flat water of Lookout Creek.

Lookout Creek really is the perfect place to take kids. We launched under the Cummings Hwy bridge (for free, you can go on into the Reflection Riding Center and launch there but there is a fee). We liked that we could back our Subaru right down to the water and unload our boat without having to carry it a long way.

We started out paddling up river and initially Isaac was totally on board with being on the water. Our kayak doesn't have scupper plugs, so there was a little bit of water in my foot board and he enjoyed splashing in it.

But – there is always a but with little kids – about 10 minutes into our paddle, he was over it. The heat, the life jacket, being stuck in my lap, all of it. Done.

So we turned around and headed back to the car while he cried/screamed. Once on land, and out of his life jacket, we calmed him down with some food and water and he was a happy guy again.

Daniel took Jack out for a little longer (which meant Jack got to sit in a real seat), and then they came back and Daniel and I traded spots and I paddled a bit with Jack.

We need to work on Jack's paddling skills. Right now he likes to drag his paddle (which slows us down and makes more work!). And when he was riding in the middle, when all four of us were in the boat, he had terrible cadence and would end up banging paddles with Daniel.

Overall though we are really happy to know that we can all fit in the new kayak. Jack will eventually learn how to paddle correctly and Isaac will eventually come to not hate wearing a life jacket. I think age 4.5, for Jack anyways, is the perfect age to really start to love paddling.

It was a great Mother's Day. Each year is better than the last!