Thursday, September 29, 2016

Fun on the lake

In the state of Minnesota, there is this adventurous land called The North Shore.
It's a great place to get bit by mosquitoes all summer long, sit by the fire roasting marshmallows, fish, canoe. Pretty much anything outdoors is fair game.

Well, we love it up there. So much to see and do.

For the first time, we went sailing.
I can't even write just how glorious it was. A sailboat is so much different than a power boat. This one cut through the waves effortlessly. So smooth. No sound. Just the waves lapping at the boat and the wind in the sails. Two hours of being still, pondering life on Lake Superior.
Fascinating how just this jib and a little wind moved us across the lake. What's a jib you ask? Well...a jib is the forward- most sail. Learned a new word! Here's a few other words...

KNOT-the nautical version of miles per hour; a knot is 1.2 miles per hour.
TILLER-attaches to the rudder and is used to steer the boat.
HULL-the main body of the boat.

  Want to know which way the wind is blowing? Just look up at that arrow. See it? It's like a cheat sheet, only its an arrow!
The Captain let me take the wheel. Said I was a natural. Hmmmm, don't think so! But it sure was fun trying!
Here is what the gages look like. See the one on the upper right? Well, there is a blue line on it. My job was to keep the boat sailing just before the lines match up. Not an easy task.

I'm such a sucker for books. This one was no exception. The wife of the captain wrote about lots of adventures while sailing on their boat. By the way, their boat is called Amicus. While reading the book, I found how the boat got its name.

"Amicus means 'friend' in Latin...Amicus was also the name of an organization I was privileged to work for that epitomized the way we aspired to live....dedicated to successfully reintegrating adult and juvenile offenders to society. To us, Amicus meant all that was hopeful in spirit and nonjudgmental in practice. Surely, we would feel strength being sheltered and transported under such a name."

Neat huh. I love this paragraph too..."Life is not about maintaining an image. It is, rather, about watching the image transform, about allowing plans to ebb and flow like the tide. There really are no bad plans if we give them the best effort we can muster." -----------Katya Goodenough Gordon

 I'm so glad hubby booked this date for us. It was wonderful to catch a glimpse of a life lived so differently than how I live. Who knew two hours on the water would fill me with such pleasure and give me pause. Remember..."There really are no bad plans if we give them the best effort we can muster."  AMEN.

http://www.amicusadventuresailing.com/
Here is their website for more information. I recommend reading their blog. Scroll down to The Lost Ring. Great story!
Thank you for a marvelous afternoon hubby. It was a blast.


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