At first, we were very nonplussed by Marc’s sudden lay-off,
which greatly interrupted our plans on the road to retirement. As often in life
however, further reflection has brought some wonderful conclusions about the situation.
For one thing, Marc no longer has to be out amongst the public and can avoid THE
stupid people who refuse to wear masks.
His exposure to Covid has likely dropped by 98%. Secondly, he now has time to
really attack all those neglected little odd jobs, like cleaning up his shop,
that were always shoved to the back burner when he worked. Third, and maybe
most importantly, we are getting some free time to really spend together, doing
what we want, like putting together the necessary equipment to get into the
sport of kayak fishing.
As noted before, my kayak had arrived damaged, so on our
first jaunt out in July we had to go with just one and take turns. We found a
marvelous Forest Service campground in the UP, which blissfully remained lightly
used (even over the weekend) where we had our choice of gorgeous lakeside spots
which allowed us easy access to the kayak. We didn’t spring for non-resident
fishing licenses due to the cost, but we really both enjoyed exploring the
entire shoreline of the lake and testing the kayak’s abilities. With mosquitoes
being bad, we set up our screen room and even the kitties were able to enjoy
being outside and contained. It was one of the most relaxing times we’ve had in
years.
Unfortunately, we moved back into northern WI to find most of the campgrounds in heavy use. The one spot we found in a state forest campground which didn’t take reservations did not thrill us and the water access wasn’t the best so we didn’t even unload the kayak. We drove around checking out many lakeside campgrounds in this area but most are on the reservation system and are fully booked through September. The others we determined we could not easily maneuver the tight turns required. It was very disappointing because the many lakes are like shining jewels and perfect for kayaking!
Meanwhile, back at home, Marc did come across a kayak at Cabela’s
which he purchased and can make work for his purposes since it is motor driven.
Getting everything set up plus figuring out how to load, unload and haul two
large, heavy kayaks on the Chevy has been a feat in itself. It has occupied
many hours, and many days. Thank God for mechanical advantage, as he devised a
winch system which greatly helps.
Not to be deterred, we’re leaving again Monday to a yet undetermined
lake, but you can bet it will be a campground which is first come only. We’ll
stay in WI this time so we can fish and hopefully discover a spot nice enough
to repeatedly return to. Oh yeah, that’s another advantage of his lay-off; we
can now pretend we’re retired and leave during the week days to avoid the
Friday rush.
