Babies Come Back to Voyageur

The problem with owning and operating a canoe outfitting business is that you see some of the same people year after year. That sounds like a good problem to have because we love our repeat guests and we love to catch up with them on their lives. The thing I don’t particularly like is when I get to meet a baby(I love babies) and then all of a sudden the next year that baby is all grown up.

I guess it maybe doesn’t happen in just one year but it sure seems like it. This week especially I’m feeling a bit like all of these babies grew up but somehow I stayed the same. For instance, a boy named Nick first came up to Voyageur in the early 90’s with his father. Now Nick is working at Birchwood for Boys Camp next door and he’s all grown up. Then there’s one of our favorite guests(not just because he brings us sweet corn either) who has a son who came to Voyageur as a young kid and now he has a baby of his own.  Other babies I met here are going to college already. Even some of our Voyageur Crew that returns to go on their own Boundary Waters canoe trips are getting older.

I suppose this happens elsewhere at resorts and outfitters when the owners have been around for awhile. I used to look at people’s driver’s licenses when I was issuing fishing licenses and think, “Oh, that person is around my age.” Now I think, “How can that person be 20 years younger than me?”

In any case, we welcome back all of the babies, kids, older kids and adults who have been at Voyageur before and of course we always welcome new ones. I’ll just have to get over the fact people around me are getting older and after owning Voyageur for over 20 years it’s bound to happen. Just don’t try to tell me I’m getting older too.