Friday, August 8, 2014

Boys Of Summer

Waiting for the slide to open - photo by Junie Quiroga
Ever since Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn decided to take off on a raft down the Mississippi for pure fun and adventure boys have been drawn to floating things on the water.  Even when they grow up they can't seem to lose that feeling of freedom they get when they are out there breaking the rules of convention and getting wet. The lure of distant objects is even more inviting when it's early morning and nobody is really watching what's going on.

Bruce on his paddleboard - photo by Junie Quiroga
First stop is the Q41 navigational buoy which is there to advise boaters they need to be on the other side and away from shore where hidden rocks pose a hazard to their boats and their boats pose a hazard to the swimmers. The Q41 buoy is also a favourite resting place for the resident pair of bald eagles who use it as a place to keep an eye on things and have their brunch. The Q41 buoy is also where I like to swim to first thing in the morning to check out the currents and decide on my swimming route.

Nelson & Dennis on Q41 buoy - photo by Junie Quiroga
Next stop of course is the fireworks barge where, in spite of warning signs to stay clear, the temptation to climb up and check out what goes on behind the scenes is too much to resist. But the signs don't have any time of day restrictions printed on them and they even provided a handy ladder for climbing up so what's a boy to do?  Well there's only one thing more exciting than climbing up a barge and that's the thrill of jumping off it.

Dennis & Nelson on the fireworks barge - photos by Junie Quiroga


Even the seals were amused as they watched us from below and wished they could have climbed up themselves.  Nothing was disturbed, nobody got injured, and it was all good fun. Once again, for a little while, we could forget about being all grown up and having to go to work and just enjoy being a summer boy again.

Nelson swimming in English Bay - photo by Junie Quiroga

1 comment:

  1. This posting is faaaaantastic. Breath of fresh air and delightful. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It made me smile big time...

    ReplyDelete