Running & Rivers & Rhythm
My last post was about gifts … and always, always, always my biggest gift is the time I spend with my kids.
Any time is good, but on a blanket, on a hill, at a free outdoor concert, is especially great.
This is Peterborough FolkFest, and these are the things I liked best about going this year:
- The drive with my son - three hours along Hwy. 7 which, in a “two things can be true” moment is both one of the most beautiful drives imaginable, and very dangerous. People cross the centre line regularly, accidents are frequent (often fatal), and we were reminded of this when we entered the particularly bad zone where there are no passing lanes and little cell service, only to come up on the tail end of a bunch of stopped cars. An accident, we figured (although we couldn’t see the front of the line). However, no cars coming the other direction helped us figure out that the road was completely closed, and a tow truck, then an ambulance driving past us in what would normally be the oncoming traffic lane confirmed bad news. We scrolled the windows down, turned off the engine, and in another instance of two things being true, found it strange and lovely to be stopped on that road with heat rising off the asphalt and crickets sawing in the background.
- Picking up my favourite quesadilla in the world from my favourite take-out place. The guy who works there — such long hours to feed drunken people stumbling in late into the night — was wearing dark glasses. He told us he had a cornea transplant and can see for the first time in years. Another patron shared his own story of having his teeth completely reconstructed after losing all of them during his struggles with addiction. They were happy stories, but maybe we were too focused on them, because when we got to my daughter’s place, there were two burritos in the bag, but not a quesadilla in sight. I had to go back, where my cornea transplant friend opened the oven to show me a completely blackened quesadilla which he had forgotten to give me. It was fine — he made me a new one! And he can see! And the other gentleman has beautiful teeth!
- Running with my son in the morning — this is something we’ve been doing all summer. We’ve run in Ottawa, and on Wolfe Island, but running in Peterborough was new for him. Peterborough is a walker’s / runner’s / cyclist’s paradise and it was fun to show him the running trails.
- Swimming! In the Otonabee River! I’m a sucker for swimming in general, but I particularly love rivers, and the Otonabee is a gem. Just the right temperature — cool when you jump in, but warm enough to stay in for ages. My daughter’s university (and, in fact, the entire city of Peterborough) is defined by being either “East Bank” or “West Bank” of the Otonabee. The university has buildings on either side, with a pedestrian bridge spanning the river, and there are steps from the library and one of the residences that lead right into the river. Canoeing, kayaking, rowing, and swimming are very popular, and we had a refreshing swim between running and heading to FolkFest. We were far too busy swimming to take photos (plus, we were wet).
- FolkFest itself — of course this was fun. We can walk from my daughter’s apartment, which is fantastic. There are always fun vendors and good food. All the food is served on reusable dishes which are washed by volunteers and handed out to the vendors. Otonabee Apiaries was selling honey lemonade (which turned out to also have lime in it) — delicious. The big draw this year was Joel Plaskett. If you’re not sure if you know him, you probably know “Nowhere With You” (if not, you should listen - you’ll be humming it all day!). He also had a 2009 album called Three with song titles like “Through & Through & Through” which, just possibly, has been influencing my blog post titles. We were all a little relieved to find out Joel Plaskett was on at 6:30. This meant we could catch his set, walk home while the sun set, drive out to Dairy Queen, and sit on the stone wall outside my daughter’s apartment eating Blizzards, feeling the warmth of the day’s sun soak through our shorts, and listening to the cicadas. And we could still be in bed before 11:00 p.m. — bonus!
FolkFest has been our tradition for three years but my daughter may not be in Peterborough next year. Perhaps next year we’ll find ourselves somewhere else on the middle weekend of August. If so, that’s OK. We’ve loved FolkFest, we’ve made a point of enjoying all it has to offer. I’m sure we’ll go back some day, but as long as I have my kids (and, hopefully, a river to swim in) I’ll consider it a good summer weekend.
Any time is good, but on a blanket, on a hill, at a free outdoor concert, is especially great.
This is Peterborough FolkFest, and these are the things I liked best about going this year:
- The drive with my son - three hours along Hwy. 7 which, in a “two things can be true” moment is both one of the most beautiful drives imaginable, and very dangerous. People cross the centre line regularly, accidents are frequent (often fatal), and we were reminded of this when we entered the particularly bad zone where there are no passing lanes and little cell service, only to come up on the tail end of a bunch of stopped cars. An accident, we figured (although we couldn’t see the front of the line). However, no cars coming the other direction helped us figure out that the road was completely closed, and a tow truck, then an ambulance driving past us in what would normally be the oncoming traffic lane confirmed bad news. We scrolled the windows down, turned off the engine, and in another instance of two things being true, found it strange and lovely to be stopped on that road with heat rising off the asphalt and crickets sawing in the background.
- Picking up my favourite quesadilla in the world from my favourite take-out place. The guy who works there — such long hours to feed drunken people stumbling in late into the night — was wearing dark glasses. He told us he had a cornea transplant and can see for the first time in years. Another patron shared his own story of having his teeth completely reconstructed after losing all of them during his struggles with addiction. They were happy stories, but maybe we were too focused on them, because when we got to my daughter’s place, there were two burritos in the bag, but not a quesadilla in sight. I had to go back, where my cornea transplant friend opened the oven to show me a completely blackened quesadilla which he had forgotten to give me. It was fine — he made me a new one! And he can see! And the other gentleman has beautiful teeth!
- Running with my son in the morning — this is something we’ve been doing all summer. We’ve run in Ottawa, and on Wolfe Island, but running in Peterborough was new for him. Peterborough is a walker’s / runner’s / cyclist’s paradise and it was fun to show him the running trails.
- Swimming! In the Otonabee River! I’m a sucker for swimming in general, but I particularly love rivers, and the Otonabee is a gem. Just the right temperature — cool when you jump in, but warm enough to stay in for ages. My daughter’s university (and, in fact, the entire city of Peterborough) is defined by being either “East Bank” or “West Bank” of the Otonabee. The university has buildings on either side, with a pedestrian bridge spanning the river, and there are steps from the library and one of the residences that lead right into the river. Canoeing, kayaking, rowing, and swimming are very popular, and we had a refreshing swim between running and heading to FolkFest. We were far too busy swimming to take photos (plus, we were wet).
- FolkFest itself — of course this was fun. We can walk from my daughter’s apartment, which is fantastic. There are always fun vendors and good food. All the food is served on reusable dishes which are washed by volunteers and handed out to the vendors. Otonabee Apiaries was selling honey lemonade (which turned out to also have lime in it) — delicious. The big draw this year was Joel Plaskett. If you’re not sure if you know him, you probably know “Nowhere With You” (if not, you should listen - you’ll be humming it all day!). He also had a 2009 album called Three with song titles like “Through & Through & Through” which, just possibly, has been influencing my blog post titles. We were all a little relieved to find out Joel Plaskett was on at 6:30. This meant we could catch his set, walk home while the sun set, drive out to Dairy Queen, and sit on the stone wall outside my daughter’s apartment eating Blizzards, feeling the warmth of the day’s sun soak through our shorts, and listening to the cicadas. And we could still be in bed before 11:00 p.m. — bonus!
FolkFest has been our tradition for three years but my daughter may not be in Peterborough next year. Perhaps next year we’ll find ourselves somewhere else on the middle weekend of August. If so, that’s OK. We’ve loved FolkFest, we’ve made a point of enjoying all it has to offer. I’m sure we’ll go back some day, but as long as I have my kids (and, hopefully, a river to swim in) I’ll consider it a good summer weekend.
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