I had the opportunity to catch up with an old friend last night and in doing so, was reminded of one of my favorite low-cost activities: canoeing. I grew up in Southwest Missouri and my older brother and I would often spend a Saturday or Sunday (or a weekday in the summer) floating one of the many creeks and rivers around us. It never cost much, and here is why:
* He owned his own canoe - the rental of a canoe isn't much if you don't own your own, but we lived near a boat factory and he bought a 17-foot canoe for a discount because the paint was imperfect on the bottom. If you canoe much in streams or rivers, whatever paint is on the bottom will be gone after scraping bottom a few times.
* We would pack our own meals. Usually just a couple of bologna sandwiches and a bag of chips.
* We would haul it ourselves. What we would do was to take two cars, drop the canoe off at the beginning site, drop one off at the end, and drive back to park at the entry point. Usually a 15 or 20 mile trip would do for us, but since we were fast (if necessary) we had plenty of time to eat and swim on a beach or rope swing.
* It was a great chance to enjoy the outdoors and make a lifetime of memories.
When my brother passed away in 1982, I inherited his canoe. It is stored at my parent's house and I don't get out it in nearly as often as I would like. My brother used to take pride in that he was "cheap", although frugal would be a kinder word for his life style. He was very good at making a dollar go a long way.
Here's to you finding something low-cost to enjoy your spare time, and I hope that you have a great day! My eBook Never Surrender is tentatively set for June 14, 2009 release. You can sign up for the newsletter/notification on the right side of this page.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment