Best Labor Day ever?

Got up early yesterday, as Teri and I had a pretty full day planned.  We hadn't been canoeing for several years, and both wanted to again.  The Little Miami River is a designated National Wild and Scenic River, and we love being out on it.  One of the major bikeways in the area tracks along it for dozens of miles.

So the idea was for me to get up early and cycle down to the canoe rental place where we'd finish our time on the water.  It was a beautiful but slightly cool morning, so I needed my jacket but not my long pants.  I was pleasantly surprised near the beginning of my ride to encounter one of my cycling friends from church, who I probably haven't ridden with all year as he doesn't go out with the hard core group very much.  He was waiting on another friend of ours, who didn't show up, so I had unexpected and welcome company for the first 20 miles of my ride.  We ended up riding the same distance, except mine was one-way and his was out-and-back.  Soon after he turned around I decided that either the morning or the cyclist had warmed up enough to shed my jacket.

I got down to Morrow and waited about 15 minutes for Teri to get there in the van, at which point we rented our canoe and they drove us upriver to our starting point.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day on the river.  The last time we were out, Teri hadn't had her shoulder fixed yet, so she was able to help with more of the paddling this time, especially on the shallow spots.  I did miss a couple channels, at which point I had to get out of the canoe to get us floating again; at one of these Teri had to get out, too, momentarily.  It was a pretty nervous moment for her, as the river was fairly rapid at that point, but we managed it well, then retrieved the paddle she dropped and I think concluded our trip without further wading.

Next we showered and changed and headed to a nearby winery, where we sampled several wines and shared a huge cheese tray.  Finally, we stopped by the home of some of our oldest friends in Ohio, who we don't see so much since they moved away and back, as they now live further from us and attend a different parish.  Hanging out with them and their younger two kids, now almost 21 and 17 (?) but who really engaged well with us "older folks," was a great way to conclude a wonderful day together.