On our recent trip up north, with our sons and their families, I thought about this poem I wrote back in 1998, in the midst of raising children, working, and extended family activities. It rings true today, but maybe I’d add some grandchildren to the scene. 😉
On the sea in Norway, but any body of water will do.
There's No Place I'd Rather Be
There’s no place I would rather be
Than by the shore or on the sea.
For at this place my heart’s alive
My body’s at rest, my soul’s revived.
There’s time to reflect, to think, to pray
And time to watch nature at play.
These retreats are made o-so-fair
As different sounds fill the air.
Rushing water or gentle waves
Is what my body and soul craves.
The songbird always sings its song
And gulls or loons may join along.
Creatures dare to come close you see
When I’m quietly sitting with just me.
Through it all my Creator speaks
And I’d like to be there every week.
My world slows down and I rejoice
To be on shore or sea is my choice.
A photo of me(2016) kayaking in Lake Superior harbor watching the Tall Ships parade.
My friend and I spent a couple of days up at her place on Daggett Lake on the Whitefish chain of lakes in northern Minnesota. The weather was hot and humid, so being by a lake was a good place to be. Her husband liked to call their place “the porch with a cabin attached”.
The porch with a cabin attached.
There is a screened-in porch, with a dining table and two double beds in it…so it is large, almost as big as the cabin. We spent a lot of time on the porch, on the dock when the shade covered the dock bench, and under the shade trees.
The view from the porch.
My friend told me of a new “cabin” being built one lake over. She said it’s worth seeing, but only from the lake…so we decided to go take a look. We had two choices…an old-fashioned paddle boat or the jet skis.
The two jet skis.
I have been on her jet skis before… I kind of have a history of mishaps with them so I was a little nervous. Also, because of Covid I was not up at her cabin last summer so it had been a while since I had been on a jet ski. However, that seemed the most reasonable way to see the new cabin from a lake view…it was way too hot to paddle across the lake, through the channel and into another lake. So we decided to take the jet skis.
As I got on a jet ski, and got a refresher course, I asked my friend, “At what age are we too old to be doing this?” And we laughed.
The dock with a bench.
But, we did it! And without a mishap too.
We backed out of the lift, accelerated fast, creating a refreshing breeze as we skimmed across Daggett Lake to the “no wake zone” to get through the channel and to the next lake. Once there, the new house stood out from the shoreline, big and beautiful. It was stunning…not a cabin at all, but a rambling, lovely lake home with amazing features, that you can only see from the lake (unless of course you are invited into this estate.)
We made our way back to my friend’s cute little cabin and I said, “So, really, what do those folks in the new mansion have that you don’t have in your cabin?!”
It was fun to be on the jet skis again. And it was fun to see the new “cabin” from the lake.
I don’t have any pictures documenting our jet ski ride, or the castle cabin. At one point I mentioned I should get my iPhone so I could take a picture, but my friend politely reminded me I should not bring any electronics near water. O yes, I remember…A few years ago I capsized in a kayak and ruined my camera, and then a few years after that, up at this same cabin, I was on the dock, pulled my iPad out of the cloth bag and it slipped right out of my hands into the water.
The Tall Ships came to Duluth this year and I went up to see the parade. But I saw the parade from a different perspective – I saw them from a kayak. I signed up for a three-hour tour and it was awesome. We took off from a beach along Park Point and kayaked out to the Duluth South Breakwater Outer Lighthouse and paddled around for three hours watching the parade. It was literally hard to stay in one spot because of the waves and the slight wind so we paddled in circles, we paddled forward and we paddled backwards a lot, dodging the sailboats and the pontoons and speed boats all anchored for a good look at the Tall Ships too.
The Tall Ships were majestic and fun to see them sailing through the water with their sails billowing. A few ships shot off a cannon as it entered the canal. It was very festive.
I have always loved Lake Superior and we have rented a cabin on the north shore for over 30 years. It’s one of my favorite places to be. There may have been a time or two over the years when I put my feet in the water but never submerged. Now I can say I have. My kayak capsized and I went under…camera, prescription sunglasses and all. I got right back in the kayak and continued on with the tour.
My glasses stayed on. I recovered my SIM card from the camera and was able to get the photos off it of the first six ships. My camera is sitting in rice at the moment…to be determined if it still works. All is well.
Tall Ships Duluth
Rubber Duckie in background…it did not go under the Ariel Bridge.
