hayslip: Father's Day Kayak Trip

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Father's Day Kayak Trip

Since this was Nate's first Father's Day, I wanted to do it right. I had already taken Thatcher to Color Me Mine to make a frame with his upside down hands because Nate is "Best dad, hands down". I just needed a gift from me. Thankfully, the week of Father's Day, Groupon had a deal for an overnight Kayak Trip in Hocking Hills. Right up Nate's alley!!!! I was able to make the reservation for Sat/Sun. After talking to the kayak people, I was convinced we could just bring Thatcher along in the Moby wrap. But in the end, we both decided it would be safer if he stayed with Grandma Brown. (I was hestitant though-I had not spent a night away from Thatch yet) So we kind of compromised. My mom followed us down and hung out at the campsite/beach with Thatcher for the day. Totally not up her alley, but she ended up having a great time!
We got there early Saturday morning, set up our camp, kissed the babe goodbye and headed to our drop off point. I had only ever kayak'd in the Puget Sound or on a lake, so this river kayaking was a new experience. It was so much fun, especially in the rapids. Along the way, we saw 2 live deer and multiple other creatures. Because we put in at 11am, we only ran into about 5 people all day. It was like we had the whole river to ourselves! I truley enjoyed every moment with just the 2 of us! ( I have to admit I was a bit nervous for it to be just us...we have not had an alone moment for 7+ months. It seems so silly, but true. I could not have been more wrong though, it was just what we needed to rekindle to romance ;)
Along the way, we came across an island with a sandy beach. It was about 1/2 way, so we parked and had a little snack/tan sesh. Again, we were all alone in the middle of nowhere. It was sooo quiet and serene.
We were on the river for about 4 hours total. One of the best parts was coming around a bend and seeing Thatcher playing on the beach with grandma. I paddled faster than I had all day. I loved my time with Nate, but I was sooo ready to see my baby!
We parked our kayaks for the night and headed back to camp to make foil dinners with steak and seasoned potatoes! So good. We even had time for a short hike at Ash Cave.
It was then time for my mom to head back home with Thatch. It was not as hard as I thought it was going to be. We headed to bed early since we had another long day of kayaking ahead of us. Unfortunetly, we woke up the next morning to thunder storms. We checked the radar and decided it was not safe. So we packed up, got a rain check to come back and headed home to see my baby!
It was the perfect gift and Nate loved it. He deserves it though. I could not ask for a better dad for Thatcher. He is so attentive to his needs and I never have to ask him to do things for him. He races me to get him when he wakes up and will even ask, "Can I wake him up yet?" because he misses him as much as I do when he sleeps. He may still gag from time to time when changing a poopy diaper, but I will cut him some slack there...it CAN be pretty stinky sometimes.
We love you, Daddy!