Or rather, good thing we have one rather than a “normal car.” The kayak Jim rented was much bigger (and heavier) than the ones he’s rented to take Charlie canoeing on a local river. Since you can fold the seats of the stationwagon down, Jim shoved the kayak in the back and used two bungee cords to secure it. (Fortunately, there’s a place where we launch the kayak that’s just a few blocks from the beach house, and I don’t take up much room in the passenger seat---Jim had to push the seat back halfway forward to make the kayak fit.)

The newest DIY challenge we have is teaching Charlie to paddle which Charlie’s been indicating he’d like to do. As Jim has to sit behind him to power the kayak, Charlie can’t see what he’s doing. We’ve talked about: practicing sitting in the kayak in the driveway and paddling; Jim paddling in the bay while Charlie stands on dry land with me; Jim sitting briefly in the front while Charlie sits in the back and watches him.

Here’s Jim and Charlie casting off on Sunday afternoon, and Jim and me talking about How To Row a Kayak.

(Turn off the sound to avoid hearing Jim’s and my random commentary.)

Jim told me that Charlie particularly liked it when jetskis and motorboats went by and their wakes made the water frothy and sent the kayak rocking.

(And I made the most of our stationwagon---it’s where I wrote this post.)