I’ve lived in St. Louis a long time, but one thing I have never tried is paddleboating in Forest Park. Well, this year Yoli and the kids won some coupons to various Forest Park things, including boat rides!
We finally decided to give it a shot on this unseasonably warm October day. What a great time we had! Joseph has really been into all things nautical, ever since we let the kids watch the movie “Master and Commander.” I love that movie, and Joseph really, really loves it now. He is constantly reading and learning more about ships and boats and wrecks. Suffice it to say that he and the girls enjoyed being on the lake and racing each other back to the dock.
Here are some photos from our adventure:
Also, Joseph shared some of his thoughts on “Master and Commander” with me:
“My dad showed me my first favorite movie, which is ‘Master and Commander.’ In Master and Commander, on the British ship HMS Surprise under the command of Captain Jack Aubrey (but the crewmates call him Lucky Jack), they are fighting a French ship called the Acheron.
“They lose the first battle, but in a different battle they disguise themselves as whalers to get the Acheron to come closer to them. They changed the name of their ship to the Syren.
“The signal to make them fire at the mainmast, which was the first part of their sneak attack, was when Captain Aubrey yelled ‘Let fly!’ Then they knocked down the mainmast, but first the cannons slid out. After that, they threw grappling hooks and boarded the Acheron.
“But the French sailors had a sneak attack also. Everybody pretended to be dead. Then the French captain yelled something. Then they all got up and one of them fired at a different guy in the head. (The guy was fat).”