What to do? Go canoe!

The weather is perfect to CANOE! 

I've always lived along the fox river. When I was young, we lived in West Dundee. Our house was five blocks from the river. I remember canoeing with my best friend Sheri as a little girl. 

In the fourth grade, we moved to Aurora. We lived about a mile from the fox river. 

My first apartment was right on the fox river in North Aurora. We'd have bonfires and take my step brother's row boat out on the river. 

Finally, at 24 when I bought my house, I lived in Yorkville. Again, another place along the fox river. I am still here in Yorkville and loving it. I live a block from the river. 

I've participated in the MidAmerican Canoe Race for the past three years. We launch from Batavia and go to Aurora. It fun to be on the river with so many people. The race goes right past my mom's backyard in North Aurora. She waves as we row past. I actually blogged after an experience one year: http://yorkville.patch.com/groups/jen-slepickas-blog/p/bp--36-hours-of-serendipity I ended up solo and learned some important lessons on the river. 

My brothers come out and we canoe on the fox river, usually from C & M Canoe Rental in Ottawa. http://www.cmcanoerental.com/ It's an annual tradition for us. We have fantastic stories from our adventures. There was the time we tipped and I dove in to rescue my brother Mike. There were countless sunburns. Another time was a fancy ladies only trip where one of the gals brought champagne and ceviche along. 

C & M Canoe is unique. It's located in Ottawa, off Rt. 71. You arrive there and they bus you up stream as many miles as you plan on canoeing back. A bus carries the passengers and the canoes are towed behind the bus. That way you can canoe at your own pace, back to their place. Canoes are $50. The route is beautiful and there is a spot to cliff jump.

Note: Call ahead and they will give you a launch time to arrive. This is usually anytime between 9am and 11am. Bring cash, I don't think they accept credit cards. If you have a big group, bring a rope to connect the canoes to create a "party barge."

The best story was the time my brother Jim persuaded me to do the eleven mile route. The sky looked moody, it was hard to predict if it would rain or not. We started off on our way on the river. All of the sudden we heard "chh chh chh chhh chhhhh chhhh" We whirled around to look behind us and could watch the rain come right at us.

It rained so hard and so much that we had to paddle to shore to dump the water out of the canoes. It was terribly windy and the rain had turned cold. People living along the river took us in to give us coffee and garbage bags to convert into rain ponchos so we could get home. We were soaked and cold. Worse, we had many more miles to go. With pruned hands, we kept going.

On the drive home, many trees were uprooted and fallen. It was a gauge as to how bad the storm had been. In hindsight, we were really lucky we were OK. I had never appreciated a hot shower so much in my life. 

This past week, I canoed from Yorkville for the first time. It was a five mile route from Freeman Sports to Silver Springs. www.freemansports.com It was the second time I've been in a canoe with my son. I love that he and I can share this experience that I love so much. 

Call Bonnie at Freeman's at: 630-553-0515. Make your reservation. You must get your canoe before 1pm. Canoes are $25.00 to canoe from Yorkville to Silver Springs and $45. if you need them to pick you up. Here is a map to get to Freeman Sports: https://www.google.com/maps?q=freeman+sports,+yorkville,+IL&hl=en&sll=41.655954,-88.439748&sspn=0.209315,0.445976&t=h&hq=freeman+sports,&hnear=Yorkville,+Kendall,+Illinois&z=17

While canoeing, you call Freemans as soon as you go underneath the electrical wires. That times it perfectly so that they are at the boat ramp by the time you get there. The boat ramp is at Silver Springs. https://www.google.com/maps?q=silver+springs,+yorkville,+IL&hl=en&ll=41.630552,-88.526416&spn=0.012494,0.027874&sll=41.630985,-88.524088&sspn=0.006247,0.013937&t=h&hq=silver+springs,+yorkville,+IL&z=16 

The trip took us about three hours with minimal rowing. It was beautiful and there were many little islands for us to canoe over to visit. You also canoe right next to Hoover Forest Preserve. 

The canoe, life preservers, and oars and all provided. Suggestions of things to bring: drinks, snacks, toilet paper, towels to sit on and ziplock bags for your cell phone. 

Tip: If you have several canoes full of people, send up to four drivers back with Freemans to get cars from Freemans to pick up the rest of your crew at Silver Springs to save some cash. It's $45 if you need a ride back, it's only $25 if you don't.

Silver Springs is a great place to play for a few hours. There are restrooms and great trails. There's Loon Lake if you bring a fishing pole. You can get a fishing license for the day from Freemans, too. Bait and other fishing items are also available for sale at Freemans. 

Experience the fox river and Yorkville. Take pictures. Make some memories.