Memorial Day Paddle on the Delaware River
Memorial Day weekend is important for many reasons. Primarily being a solemn time to remember others’ sacrifices, its parades and flags also signal the beginning of summer. For us it has also been a time to get together with some family we do not see too often, a small reunion we look forward to every year.
Jani’s cousins, Sarah and Jane, host this annual gathering at their home on the Delaware River in the heart of the Catskill Mountains. We usually only stay for a day – Jani has to return home to participate in the Memorial Day parade in Bantam each year – but other family stay overnight, usually camping out near the river.
The one day we do spend there usually includes a family canoe trip down the Delaware, some baseball and a cookout. Notably Sarah’s dad (and Jani’s uncle), Mark has a birthday on the 27th and its celebration is an integral part of the gathering. Uncle Mark turned 92 this year, and as revered patriarch of the family, his birthday is an important event.
Three of Jani’s siblings were there this year, including her older sister, Marti, who, with her husband Paul, drove down from Maine. Her brothers Matt and Kent were there with their spouse, and usually provide the canoes. Sarah’s brother Mark was also there, and the whole day is often bathed in family stories going back to the cousins’ childhood.
Our son Austin’s family drives up from Croton-on-Hudson, so we get another chance to go canoeing with two of our grandsons (Sam and Jude). In the past, cousins have come from Virginia and as far away as western Canada.
(It has almost become tradition that at least one boat capsizes and has to be rescued, but we won’t say whose boat that might be.)
Hover on a photo to enlarge; click on an image to run slide show
