Canaling Summer Fun - Row, Row, Row Your Boat

I posted several years ago about us taking our first trip down the "canal" that so many kids float each summer. In the first post, I shared how much fun we had with our exchange student going down the canal.
Click here for that post.

A few weeks later, Princess Three was going down with friends and since we were new to the whole thing, she wasn't wearing shoes and sliced her foot open getting out. Click here for that post. She ended up having stitches and then they took them out too early and she has a NICE scar on the bottom of her foot.

Since that eventful day, we have never since gone "canaling."

It has been over two years and the girls out of the blue the other day said they wanted to go. We called a friend and borrowed some tubes and went. We started further up the canal and went under a VERY low bridge. 

There were spider webs everywhere and I got cobwebs all over my face and could see huge spiders crawling about 6 inches from my face as we were so high on the tube with two of us on it that we were almost touching the underside of the bridge. I screamed like I have never screamed when I came out with spiders all over me. It wasn't a pleasant event and I will NEVER do that again! What was anyone thinking doing that!


Anyway, after that, the ride was quite enjoyable so I promised the girls we wouldn't do the spider bridge again. The next week, Princess Five was asked to go with her friends from out of town on her birthday so she went again and we took ice cream bars and met them half way down the canal where we could sing to her on the bridge as they went under. 

Then a week later, another one of her friends called asking her to go so she went. Each time they go, we learn another thing. There are two rope swings over the canal that kids swing out and jump off but the other day we were with a boy who had never been canaling before and he didn't keep his feet out in front of him and he didn't let go over the water and hit the tree with his back and ended up with road rash back or "tree" rash back. He then stayed on his back the whole time while floating and didn't rotate keeping the sun even and he burned his front really bad.

What we have learned about life from canaling.... Always wear shoes in uncharted waters. Always face the shore and at times, learn to let go. And, wear sun screen if you are white and flip sides half way down the journey giving both sides equal time in the sun! Lastly, make sure you are with friends and family that can help you enjoy the journey!!!

As I looked for her to take a few pictures today, I found her right off which can be hard as you can't always see the canal with lots of overgrowth and it is above the road mostly. I got out, took a picture and walking back, found this penny. Gotta be a good day!