Uncommon Adventures blog

Water to Wine Kayak Weekend….

This past weekend was a new program test driven by two great couples from Ann Arbor combining morning kayak forays around Old Mission Peninsula with afternoon sampling of some of the finer vineyard products of the region. We were lucky to be blessed with extremely settled and fine weather as well as some extraordinary natural phenomena.  Sure, we had the usual deep blue waters of the bay, Tiger Swallowtails and Monarchs floating about, cool wetland wildflowers and then there was the added attraction of carp wrestling.

This years higher lake levels covered some of the previous year’s glacial gravel flats creating habitat for wildflowers, reeds and, as it turns out, an ideal spot for large scaly fish to have sex.  Picture paddling along on glassy waters blissed out by the solitude and rhythmic dance of your paddle blades only to have your reverie broken by water splashing 6 feet into the air a few feet away on shore. Nosing into the reedy shallows and raising to a standing position allowed us to see alligator like behemoths milling around the shallows and digging nests with tails or apparently trying to jump a couple of steps up in evolution…some were partially beached.  Now chasing them around was mildly fun and vice versa, but try to catch one with your hands is a real challenge.  Think greased pig on speed while inebriated (the chaser).  They don’t have handles.  I managed to get one handsome goldfish-on-steroids between my hands around his thickset middle and elevate him to everyone’s eye level.  He was not amused.  Seemed to be about 20lbs, but that one was only half the size of many there. Realizing that we are seldom lucky enough to witness natural phenomena like this we stopped harassing the bovine sized fish and headed back to the put-in for lunch. The sun came out to shine fiercely down on a lunch of local salad greens, grilled pears and pan-seared scallops all washed down with one of Bel Lago’s fine sparkling wines.

During the weekend we tasted fine Riesling’s at several wineries, some tasty Chardonnay’s and some very respectable bubbly.  Our favorites were 2Lads (the boys have class) and Blackstar Farms…and none of them produce a bad Pinot Grigio.  Some are truly spectacular.  Chris at 2 Lads is really trying to do a good Red w/Cab Franc grapes.  Well….the Rose is really fun.  The Pinot Noir’s and Cab Francs are quite there yet.  A visit to Michigan’s wine country is becoming worth buying a plane ticket for.  We’ll be coming up with a matching trip for the Leelanau wine trail this fall.

Sunday morning our hardy test pilots awoke from their slumber in the 140-year-old suite at Old Mission Inn to a mirror pond that sent us down the Western shore to meet up with Gary, Mimi and Micah Appel for a spectacular paddle around Power/Marion Island.  Meeting Ranger Fred and his family was a highlight as was enjoying such a spectacular day with the Williams and Hayes crew. Hey, that’s got a nice ring to it…Williams and Hayes, proprietors.  I’d trust that on a sign anywhere.

Eat well, drink good wine and be where you are.

What is summer?  Is it a date on our calendars here in N. America?  Does it begin when school lets out?  Is it when the mercury climbs to balmy temps?  I contend that it is an attitude.  It could be flip-flops,  floral print shirts and rum drinks in front of a blazing fire in the midst of a January snowstorm (sounds like one of my past birthday bashes).  Such was the case when two couples joined us last weekend here at Camp Kayak for a chilly and soggy weekend of kayak instruction here in Sleeping Bear Country.  Donning fleece, synthetics and neoprene the gooey weather was soon forgotten as new skills came on-line and the spirit of summer soon overtook any grey skies overhead.  Wrapping grilled foods in warm tortillas along with flowing wine brought summer into the room.  Maybe summer waits for you in a kayak.   For me, that happy otter feeling of playing with water comes best with a paddle in hand and it always puts a summery smile on my face.
Our current times seem to embody that grey sky feeling of hanging gloom. Make that gloooom; can’t get enough o’s in there these days.  It seems to breed upon itself like a media driven attitude-borne cancer.  Economic hardship is a reality…this is Michigan, the place that got fat building cars…past tense.  This “downturn” really began at home and I believe it can end at home as well.  If the embers of summer can be fanned into flame by adjusting attitudes then working a little harder, being creative and learning to think sideways a bit can go along ways toward turning us all back up.  Get out and DO.  Most of us have a ton of toys we don’t use…use them.  Share with others.  No money to go out to dinner?  Take a picnic (and a sweater) to the beach, or the park, or the yard.  Take a kid fishing, teach them to listen to birds, grow a plant, identify a tree, call an owl, whistle, cook good food, build a treehouse…go old school.  Unplug.

Maybe someday is today.