Prelude to the Canoe Trip of Death

So last Saturday...no, let me start at the beginning....

Two years ago, my sissy and I (along with the 2 sons-in-law) gave my dad a canoe trip for Father's Day, complete with water shoes and a diorama of a pastoral canoe scene. Then we had no rain.

I only tell you we had no rain, because we had to cancel our trip for that year. The Nippersink Creek, aka The Mighty Nip, which runs thru a good portion of McHenry County isn't very big. I'd say it's 30 feet wide at the widest and the depest part I fell into was about shoulder high (more on that later).

So, no rain = much portage, and since it was going to be the 6 of us, we decided to postpone the trip. Then, one year ago, we also couldn't go because my sister developed preeclampsia on purpose to spite us.

This year, we were determined. My mother-in-law-in-law bought my almost-year-old niecey an infant life vest and we were ready to go...