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At the Cottage

Russian River
May 25, 2008

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No one seems to remember who nailed an old can of Circus Peanuts to a stick long ago, or whether it was toy or tool. But it remains, one of a thousand artifacts hiding in the corners of the cottage.

When we got hungry on Sunday afternoon, Em, Ellie & I decided we'd like to have Berry's sandwiches. Rather than drive (about 10 mins) we decided to canoe. We paddled up through Summer Home Park, under the foot bridge, and up the rapids, stopping occasionally at beaches to wade in the warm shallow parts. Saw a couple of bullfrog tadpoles in one of them.

We reached the Hacienda Bridge after about an hour, where we chained the canoe up to a tree and climbed up the rocks to the bridge. Crossed the bridge -- with Tommy freaking out from the traffic -- and made our way into Berry's where we ordered sandwiches and drinks. I got a cup of espresso. After a while hanging out in front of Berry's, we crossed back over the bridge and climbed down the rock, this time with three fountain drinks and a cup of espresso, plus two bags of food.

Now, how to get the three fountain drinks a mile down river in the canoe? We put them in a plastic bag, snug, and then tied the bag to a crossbar in the canoe. They swung as we paddled, but stayed mostly upright.

Shooting the rapids was easier than the Burke's canoe amateurs made it look, so we didn't spill and lose our sandwiches. Stopped a few more times, and finally glided back to our dock, where we chained up the canoe and climbed up to the cottage -- three hours after we left. The drinks, of course, were warm and watery by then, but we had accomplished our mission, getting them home more than half full.