Don’t Forget to Unplug Before Leaving the Dock
This past summer my wife Kim and I chartered a 40 foot sailboat on Lake Superior and cruised through the unspoiled and mostly deserted Apostle Islands with our three kids, Will, Mollie, and Graham. We had never sailed in this area before and although eager to experience all that the islands had to offer, we were also nervous that our kids, ages 10, 9 and 6 would get bored with no on-shore activities to entertain them. This is rather a pathetic statement I know, but let’s face it, kids today and even us adults have come to expect being entertained in one fashion or another every minute of every waking day. Because of this, and because we didn’t want our vacation ruined by cranky kids whining about their being nothing to do, we literally left the dock with three laptop computers, one Itouch, one Ipad, an Android smart phone, my old Blackberry, and plenty of movies to watch. The one thing that we forgot to bring however was a 12 volt/ 110 volt inverter. In short, we had no way to charge all that we had brought so once the batteries ran out, we’re talking game over.
We had a smoking good sail the first day before dropping the hook (that’s nautical lingo for anchor) just off the beach of Stockton Island. The day slipped away into a clear, beautiful, star-lit night and after dinner Kim and I sat in the cockpit sipping our wine and taking it all in. Our kids on the other hand sat down below fighting over which movie they would watch, where they would watch it, and who would hold the computer. We spent two nights in Stockton Island before sailing onto Raspberry Island about 12 miles to the west. One of the great things about sailing in the Apostle’s is that the islands are close together making for quick passages between harbors. We set our anchor in a well-protected cove just off the sandspit in about 15 feet of clean, clear-blue water. It was a sweet spot for sure and we made the most of it by swimming and diving off the back of the boat. But once the sun went down, there were all three of my kids once again glued to the screen of the Ipad, the last remaining device with any juice left. Then a funny and unexpected thing happened almost immediately after the Ipad gasped its final breath and the light faded from its screen. Will appeared in the cockpit with a deck of cards in his hand and said “anyone interested in playing a game of Michigan Rummy?”
From that point forward the trip took on a whole new feel, a real feel, one without beeps, clicks, electronic tones, or video games. From that point forward we spent our time combing the shore for cool looking stones and driftwood. At night we made fires on the beach, told stories and sang songs. We played cards, board games and read books. We did all those things that families used to do before the invasion of portable, hand-held electronics. No one was fighting that they couldn’t see or couldn’t hear. No one was arguing over which movie to watch or who would hold the computer. All that was gone.
We spent several more days on the boat cruising from one island to the next. They were all beautiful, unique and for the most part deserted. And while there was no commercial entertainment to be found, we never lacked for being entertained. It was all there just as it was for our parents and grandparents, simple entertainment but oh so much better than what we have today.
After we got home, we called our cable company and disconnected our TV. We still have the internet and the kids still play too many video games when we’re not looking but there’s also more chess and scrabble being played; there’s more music flowing through the house, more family conversations and a few more fires burning in the fireplace at night; all good things.
This Christmas, Santa brought us a new tent and we’ve started looking at the idea of buying an Airstream trailer and doing a little camping. We’re not sure exactly where we’ll go but one thing is for sure, when we do go, we’ll be sure to unplug, leave the electronics behind and experience all that life has to offer, for real.
On we go…
P.S. Interested in exploring the Apostle Islands for yourself? Contact Superior Charters at www.superiorcharters.com. They have a great fleet of Jeanneau sailboats to choose from and are a treat to deal with.
A New Year’s Resolution for 2013
“life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop and look around once in a while you could miss it.” Ferris Bueller
Hist
orically, I’ve never been one for making New Year’s resolutions but this year I found myself on the ski slopes of New Hampshire just a few days before New Year’s Eve, feeling rather melancholy and more motivated to set up some targets to shoot at for 2013. I’m not entirely sure what brought this shift in thinking on but I’m sure it has a lot to do with my age and my children.
At 53 It’s hard to consider myself as young although I don’t feel 53 and I don’t much look like I’m 53. I’m an active guy. I don’t try to be active, I just am active; the way I have always been. I run, cycle, swim, and have not given up trying to drive down my time when competing in local running races and the occasional triathlon. In short, I’m out there but at the end of the day I’m 53 years old and the clock is not only ticking, I am convinced it’s speeding up too. Adding credibility to this idea are my three young children ages 10, 9 and 6 who are growing before my eyes at an incredible rate. So fast in fact it’s like watching time-lapse photography live and in 3D. It’s hard to ignore their fast-paced growth which further propagates the idea that the peloton of time is speeding forward and all of us along with it.
So, where am I going with all this? No place too original I’m afraid except that at the ripening age of 53 with three young children in tow, I’m more aware these days of how fast time goes by and how quickly we can all lose sight of this very basic fact. With all this in mind, one of my primary missions for 2013 is to climb out of the rut a little more frequently in 2013 and have a few more adventures with my family before I get too old to keep up with them and before they get to old to want to hang out with me. Since I work for Jeanneau and have easy access to the boats we build, I plan to do a little cruising to areas that I have never been. I also plan to do a little camping this coming summer and made sure that Santa brought us a new tent to keep us warm and dry along the way.
Life indeed moves pretty fast and Ferris Bueller was right, if you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. Happy New Year everyone! Be good, work hard, and be sure to take the time to feel life’s fresh breezes.
All The Best,
Paul Fenn
Paul Fenn, Take a Shot Media 