Goodbye to an old friend

It served me well.  My Mad River solo, kevlar canoe accompanied me on canoe camping trips in the Adirondacks, as well as local paddling in the Rochester area.  When Molly was a hyperactive puppy, I took her to Mendon Ponds Park for a canoe ride.  Except that Molly wanted no part of a canoe ride and she bailed out, the only time I ever flipped the canoe in water.  I put her back in the boat and gave her a very stern, "Stay!" command.  She accepted her fate for the next half hour or so.

In more recent years, my interests turned to other things. . . my sleek yellow kayak, my old tandem kevlar canoe, bicycling, and the list goes on.  I had been trying to sell it off and on for awhile.  No one was willing to give me my price.  Far too many people don't understand the difference between this canoe and a dime store quality that you would find in BJs or Sam's Club for much less than I demanded for this one.

A recent ad brought an e-mail from someone at work.  I described the canoe to her in more detail than the two line ad that caught her attention and I sent her this picture.  "I have too many toys and not enough time to enjoy them," I told her as my reason for selling it.

She has a cottage on the water so she will get a lot of use out of it.  And though a part of me wanted to hang on to it, I am grateful that it is going to a new home where it will be loved and cared for!