Ready for Adventure

Spirits are still soaring as I bring the throttle back to full stop to let us drift into our anchorage for the night. After having walks about the deck to watch the whales and admire the scenery Winona was back at the watching Grandpa as he leaned over the rail to read the water and watch the ocean floor for an ideal spot to drop anchor. In the sheltered lees of the tail’s largest island which was itself was situated in the lees of the main island you couldn’t find a calmer spot along the entire West coast of the Americas. Though we locals tried to keep this place something of a secret the word had trickled out and in the height of tourist season it was not uncommon to see a half a dozen or more yachts parked out here, but today we were the only ones in sight and I couldn’t have been happier.

Stretching in front of us was a long, narrow, slightly curving and glass smooth stretch of water that cut between great cliffs of dark gray stone on either side that were so sheer and steep that not even the ocean birds could nest along their inner walls. As we drift to a stop maybe fifty yards before the inlets mouth I check the sounder then stick my head out the window to shout to Grandpa.

“Good?” I ask. He gives me a thumbs up. After telling him how much chain we’ll need I call. “Anchor away!”

“Anchor away!” Grandpa lets the anchor drop then stands watching and counting the ten foot markers rattle by. Before long the anchor is set, the snubber tied off, and the engine turned off. This was our home for the evening.

I come skipping out onto the deck to join them then slide right in alongside Winona at the rail. She puts her arm around me and pulls me tight to her body.

“This place is wild.” She says, marveling at the towering cliffs before us.

“Bon M-Mainz is awesome.” I agree. “We try to g-get out here every year or two, right Grandpa?”

“Absolutely.”

“Bon Mainz?” Winona asks.

“Bastardized from ‘de bonnes mains’, or the good hands.” Grandpa explains the history of this place that made up the right fluke of the Ehkolie’s tail as he comes to lean on the rail to my other side. “Early French cartographers drew it in the shape of praying hands. Combine that with it being the best shelter in a storm this side of the island and you get the good hands I guess.”

“Huh. So why didn’t we anchor in there?” She nods to the inlet.

“Way t-too deep.” I answer. “It gets crazy deep in there. Tricky to turn around in there t-too, unless y-you’re Grandpa.”

“Heh.” He pats my hand.

“It’s shallower out here? That’s kinda weird, isn’t it?”

“You said yourself it’s a wild place.” Grandpa says. “Though a lovely spot for a quiet paddle for two.”

“You’re not c-coming with us?”

“I thought I’d get dinner all done up for when you got back.” Before either of us could protest he waves us off. “It’s all a part of my Couple’s Cruise package.”

On a day like this in a canoe built for two all of us understood just what a third wheel he would become if he tagged along. He wouldn’t ruin anything, far from it, but his presence would make it something…different. Something it wasn’t supposed to be. Deep down we all knew that this was an adventure perfect for a smitten young couple. And Grandpa knew it doubly so as he’d brought his Anna to this spot early on in their courtship all those years ago. The way his eyes twinkled as they gazed into mine told me that that very memory was flitting through his mind as we spoke.

“In the m-morning we’d get the sunrise.” I say, recalling his story of how he and Grandma camped out here that first night just to see the dawn. Only now, reflecting back on it as an adult, did it dawn on me that they probably hadn’t simply been ‘camping’ that night.

“But tonight you have it all to yourselves.” He casts his eyes to the North to scan for incoming yachts. “For the moment anyway.”

“Good point.” I smile then look to Winona. “How about it? Ready for an adventure?”

“Heck yeah!”

“Ha ha! Cool!”

***

Moving swiftly so as to make the most of the good light I pack some camera gear, emergency supplies, and drinks into a pack. As I step out of the galley I was surprised to see the door to my room open a crack. Padding down the hall I push it open a crack and peek in to find Winona just slipping into a pair of snug denim shorts, and I do mean snug! They were hardly booty shorts but they allowed a full view of Winona’s long, luscious tan legs as the hem barely reached down past…her VERY prodigious bulge.

“Um…”

“What’dya think?” She buttons up her fly then grabs her package to shift it into a comfortable position. “Figured there’s no one out here but us and the whales, and they’re not blabbing.”

“You look…good. Really good.” I say, and boy did she ever! In just faded blue denim shorts, a white tank top, and her long hair back in a loose braid she looked better than any gussied up woman I’d seen walking any red carpet anywhere. Stepping in I close the door behind me. “G-Grandpa? W-We should tell him first.”

With a big smile she looks down at her junk then back to me. “He knows.”

“He d-does?”

“He’s known the whole trip.” She says. “I told him not long after we left dock.”

“You did?” I’d been so busy driving I must have missed it. I knew Winona had been nervous about telling him, leave it to her to just grab the bull by the horns and get it out of the way like that. He hadn’t said a thing about it to me. “Um, how d-did he…take it?”

Stepping forward she lays a hand on my shoulder and answers by simply saying. “I love your Grandpa.”

“Yeah.” I didn’t know how he’d reacted or what he’d said to her but the fact that he’d given her the confidence to wear these shorts out in the open told me all I needed to know. “He’s the best.”

***

Soon we are lowering the canoe down into the water. Once in I scamper down the ladder to tie it off. We buckle into our bright life jackets and were ready to go.

“We won’t be t-too long.” I tell Grandpa as I hug him.

“Take your time, love birds.” He says, patting his copy of ‘Blaze of Glory’. “Thought I’d get to know this old scallywag.” With a long breath he looks out to the horizon. “Calm water, cold beer, warm breeze and a good book. I’ll be just fine, youngins.”

“I’ll have her back by curfew, Cap’n.” Winona grabs my head in a headlock and smooches it before letting me go. I giggle and cuddle into her side.

He chuckles and turns to head to his favorite chair. “Have fun!”