The Christmas Break road trip continued after we canoed the Coosa River in Alabama. Next on the itinerary, canoe in Nashville, Tennessee while also enjoying a big city for New Year’s Eve. On our way up to Nashville we made a stop in Birmingham, about an hour and a half Northwest of where we were staying in Wetumpka. We had some deliciously cheesy sandwiches at MELT in the Avondale neighborhood then head over to the 16th Street Baptist Church. Four…
I am a huge fan of Christmas. I love decorating our home, putting up the tree, hosting holiday parties, and spending Christmas day at my parents’ house. Since childhood, I’ve been a Christmas fanatic. From the food we eat on Christmas Day to the ornaments that hang on the tree, I absolutely love it. This year we did the holiday traditions, but it was a little more low-key in order to accommodate a Canoe 52 paddling vacation on winter break.…
“We have to get Rhode Island done before summer ends.” Those words motivated us to research great paddling spots in our neighbor to the East, Rhode Island. Even though the season doesn’t technically end until mid to late September, it ends for us when school is back in session. Tony is a high school teacher so September becomes a hectic, but important month for getting to know his students, adjusting curriculum, and just settling back into the routine that broke…
We drove along the pitch black road already dark from the night sky, canopied by tall trees. We knew we were really in the woods when “High Hit Area” signs with the symbol for deer lined the road. It was one Canoe 52 adventure after the next in early July 2016. After returning from our trip to Pittsfield, MA it was time to reload the car for canoeing in Rangeley, Maine. My brother Chris works for the fabulous outdoor retailer LL Bean. The…
I’ve loved James Taylor since I was a kid. Listening to his music takes me back to riding in the back of my parents’ truck singing along to mix tapes my mom used to make. That voice. It’s one of a kind for me. Since he was born and raised in Stockbridge, MA, James Taylor’s summer concerts at Tanglewood in Lenox, MA are a homecoming. He plays an epic July 4th show every year and the suckers who aren’t quick enough…
2016 was going to be the year that we really got our act together with canoeing. We put our canoe, Karalius (“King” in Lithuanian), into the Connecticut River in February and didn’t look back. Tony is a high school teacher so any vacation that we take during the school year has to happen during a school break. The first vacation of the year came the first week of April. Creating a list of the things we wanted to get out of…
