Family canoe trips get better with time

I bought a canoe about eight years ago. It’s a huge 16-footer, way bigger than I needed at the time.

At first, all I had to transport it on top of my Jeep were a set of foam blocks and some ropes. I’ll never forget taking it out with my wife for the first time. The blocks were unstable, the wind was strong, and my wife had a terrible time.

Fast forward eight years. I now have a Mopar sport roof rack with a canoe carrier attachment. We have two kids, ages 4 and 2. Last weekend, we took our first family canoe outing on Lake Mitchell. It went so smoothly and was so enjoyable that it ended with a sincere thank you from my wife, who until this outing was no fan of canoeing.

So if you have a canoe and your first outing was less than successful, don’t give up. It gets better.

And it helps an awful lot to have the right equipment. If you’re curious, here’s a link to the rack system I bought for my Jeep: http://jeeppartspeople.com/SearchProduct.asp?Model=Cherokee&catid=328164578933589&year=99&productdesc=Water+Sport+Carrier.