Jennifer Zalewski Studio

I’ve been obsessed since our last camping trip to 8th Lake, and I finally did it… bought a canoe! Wahoo!

It’s an Old Town Discovery 116 Solo Canoe. Cherry red. 43 lbs (theoretically something I can handle by myself). Jack and I took it out for a test drive along the Seneca River, just north of Port Byron:

The trip was a bit more nerve-wracking than our trip at 8th Lake. First of all, at 8th Lake (and in all my canoe adventures as a child) we had a 90 lb. 5-person aluminum Grunman canoe. Lemme just say that a 40 lb. single-person boat handles MUCH MUCH different than a 90 lb. multi-person! When Jack stood up and fidgeted in the OT, the whole boat wobbled like a jello bowl. Seeing on this trip that neither Jack and I had a life jacket (stupid), and I had my cell phone, camera and keys sitting on the floor -subject to totally sinking in the deep river if we tipped (stupid)- well, I was a nervous wreck. Jack did finally settle and I paddled a bit, but not nearly as far as I wanted to go. I’m fairly certain that Jack will need absolute training on LAY DOWN and STAY before I let him back in, LOL!!! And we’ll DEFINITELY be getting life-jackets and a waterproof box for my camera and stuff. But I’m so happy with the purchase, and can’t wait for more outdoor adventures.