A couple of years ago, I noticed a rope hanging from a tree on the shore on the other side of the lake towards the sandy peninsula. It had been tied very high above the water around a branch of a massive tree. No idea how they did that but it created a great swinging rope. I thought some day we should give it a try.
On a visit to the cottage in July our nieces Charlotte and Rowan, upon hearing about it, convinced us that day had come.
There's a natural platform about 6 feet above the water's edge from which you launch yourself over the water and it gets deep fast enough that it's a pretty safe. It's important to hold on tight though and to let go at the right time, ideally when you've reached the point when you momentarily stop and are about to swing back.
While the girls were brave, they were smart enough to ask uncle Neil to go first so they could be certain the rope and the tree would hold them. Once that test succeeded, we had lots of fun taking turns dropping off from about six feet above the water into the deep.
Above: Testing the rope. What are uncles for anyway?
Rowan about to let go
Laura, making sure our boats don't drift away, plays it safe
On the last weekend in August, we hosted our third annual family reunion with Mark, Brenda, B.A., Melissa, Rowan, Charlotte, Laura and Andrea joining us. Unfortunately, for the first time Glen couldn't make it and for the third time cousin Lise couldn't make it.
The weather was perfect, as it has been almost every weekend this summer, and we spent most of the afternoon on the dock. Do we need a bigger dock?
Later on, Mark, Melissa, Andrea, Charlotte and I climbed in the canoes and set out so Charlotte could teach the others how to swing on the rope. Some of her students struggled a little more than others. Watch this video and you'll see what I mean.
With his daughter and nieces watching, Mark demonstrates why he didn't get the part when he auditioned for the role of Tarzan.
There was another impressive performance that day when Charlotte, Melissa and Andrea introduced us to the sport of synchro-noodle. Here's the link to the first ever recorded performance of this skill, which apparently requires team members to concentrate and giggle at the same time. Well done!
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