Adventure Cruising With Kids or Grandkids — Canada’s Trent Severn Waterway

Jim and I love to share our cruising experiences! Since 2005, when we headed out on our first Great Loop adventure, it was just the two of us. Our three sons who were engaged in their own adventures; college, jobs, and Marines, were too young to have kids themselves, which left us empty-nesters, and able to strike out on our own. When our first grandson, Silas, made his appearance, in 2013 (and subsequently, our granddaughter, Hadley, in 2016 and another grandson, Declan in 2021) our thoughts and energies eventually turned to how we could share our love of boating with them.

Silas was born in Portland, Oregon (his family now lives in our hometown of Traverse City. In fact, all our sons have returned to our hometown over the last few years. Since we became Ranger Tug owners in 2011, we were fortunate to travel to the Pacific Northwest many times by either driving out to buy a new tug (we’ve had three) or returning by towing our tugs westward several times. We always made sure we were available during the birth of both grandkids in Portland by staying at a marina on the Columbia River. By doing that, we could include Silas on several overnight trips and one week-long trip to South Sound (Puget Sound), when he was four years old. Hadley just recently began her boating with us. Both took their very first cruise in Portland within days of their birth. Our most recent grandson, Declan, has been with us on West Bay, in Traverse City, a few times this summer. His parents are also boaters and he is getting plenty of time on the water this summer.

As I write this, we are planning a trip, with the two oldest grandkids, in August 2022 to Canada’s historic Trent Severn Waterway.
Silas and Hadley are both old enough now to appreciate an adventure and follow instructions needed when four people occupy a limited space. We hope the trip will give them an appreciation of the cruising lifestyle and the thrill of adventure while learning the ins and outs of boating. We will frame their trip to be educational. The Trent Severn Waterway will be an interesting trip through canals, lakes, and rivers with plenty of locks. It should hold their attention as they explore the locks and learn how they work. We’ll be mostly camping before or after some locks, other times anchoring in a lake, with only a few nights in marinas.

Kids (above), on the boat in our driveway, several weeks before leaving on our trip.