Kayaking and Camping with Kids is Fun
“I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.”
- John Burroughs
There is magic to be found in the joy of kids playing outside. But the true life-affirming moments happen when you choose to join them in that joy.
My 7yr old daughter recently made me a card with the above Burroughs quote. She's learned where her mother's and my passions lie. We are a family that celebrates the bounty of our outdoors. We know many of y'all do as well.
Let's all endeavor to remind our friends and families just how much happiness can be found out there. Because it feels like we all need it.
Camping and kayaking with kids requires a lot of preparation. You have to pack a ton of gear and snacks to ensure everyone has a good time. But the payoff is big smiles and kids content to recreate in the outdoors.
My girls schedule a trip every Father's Day because they know my passion, and it's now a highly anticipated annual weekend. School is starting up for some and soon come for others, so summer time is running short. Make sure you plan a few more adventures before y'all are all back to the grind.
Our Father's Day weekend was a success. I'm fortunate, my wife grew up the youngest daughter of Appomattox River Company owner, Bob Taylor, so she has generational experience camping and kayaking. For me I spent much of my youth running around the woods. And I spent much of my twenties camping, and rock climbing. There are lessons both my wife and I have learned from our years in the outdoors that we are now passing down to our kids. But some of hers comes with more generation depth. It makes things a little easier.
Which brings me to a larger point. Not everyone has the benefit of that learned experience. But it is never to late to start the journey. It isn't to late to be that first generation. It's not too late to learn some of your own lessons, and pass them on to others.
We are all immersed in a time of increased digital tech. We need the moments of decompression that come with time spent outdoors. But equally important, we need to teach the next generation about the therapy of outside play.
Our kids are reminded often that the true adventure, the real joy of life is not found within the illuminated blue light captured in the square of their device, but rather outside under the blue skies.
All this to say, yes we sell kayaks, canoes and SUPs. And we sell these paddlecraft to make a living. But it's the actual living part that we are most concerned with achieving. Our desire to help others get out and experience the outdoors is foremost in our minds. We are paddlers. We have a generational bond to kayaking and spending time outside. My father in law, and my mother in law passed down that passion to my wife and we are busy passing that passion down to our kids.
We have staff, long employed here, doing the exact same thing. We live this stuff. That is what you are supporting when you shop at a family run business. And for that support we'll gladly share our knowledge, swap stories, and do our best to give you the same family service.
We have staff, long employed here, doing the exact same thing. We live this stuff. That is what you are supporting when you shop at a family run business. And for that support we'll gladly share our knowledge, swap stories, and do our best to give you the same family service.
See ya on the water!
Kayaks : For this mission, I paddled the Wilderness Systems ATAK 120, while my wife and eldest daughter swapped between the Wilderness Systems Tarpon 120 and the Perception Pescador Pro 10.