-
When did you start kayaking?
A guest post by Lee Gilbert of A Whole Bunch of Ing’s. Lee is the expedition leader for the Paddle to Retirement Expedition. “When did you start kayaking?” is a icebreaker, an epilogue of our paddling to that very moment. Whether it be sitting on a beach next to a roaring fire, in a pub being introduced to new paddling partners, or socializing at a symposium; this is the simple nexus that drawls so many different people together. And here’s mine. I grew up in a modest house in rural Newfoundland with salt stained windows, which my mother would feverishly clean after every storm. Kelp was a common site in…
-
Down the Mississippi
In August 2004, two friends started a trip down the Mississippi River. They planned on paddling 560 miles in 15 days, and one of them - me - made it. The other quit early. In this personal essay, I explore the meaning of friendship and how expeditions can ruin them.
-
Some New Year’s Resolutions
Every year it seems that people are making their newest New Year’s resolutions within a day or two after the big year ending celebration of December 31st. And, of course, it seems that if someone has made a New Year’s resolution, then they want you to share yours, and every year, when asked, I say I don’t have any, because I often wait for a while to see if I want to make any. It turns January into a month of reflection on the last year, and lets it sink in. I often ask myself the question: What did I accomplish? What did I want to do and didn’t? And…
-
Getting By: Learning Life’s Little Lessons
At the holidays, I find myself, like most Americans back home with my family, and usually just after we finish our holiday ham and while still leaning back with full stomachs, the subject of my life comes up. Often this leads to the discussion of my job or lack of job as they see it – a full-time adventurer. (They read Slacker) On a recent trip, I sat and listened to the normal chatter of, “I don’t know why you ever quit your last job. It was so good. You made good money there,” until I couldn’t’t take it anymore. “I’ll tell you why,” I said. “Because I’ve learned everything…
Or if you use a RSS Feed Reader subscribe via our RSS Feed.