Paddling, pain...and marriage

Paddled the length of Okanagan Lake with a friend Aug 21-22. Seventeen hours of total paddling. After five hours, everything hurt, even my brain. At 4 mph you can sometimes see a point of land coming for hours before you get there. But we kept going, actually enjoyed ourselves and felt great at the end.

Paddling a canoe is a lot like marriage. Everything the other person does affects you, there is calm and rough water, beautiful scenery and eyesores, times when you want to quit, deep pleasure and sometimes deep pain. But when you reach a common goal, you experience a bonding and sense of accomplishment that is only heightened by the length and difficulty of the trip.

There is a depth of satisfaction that comes from being together for the long haul, that does not happen in a little paddle across the bay.