On a recent trip out west–Wisconsin west!–we took a two-hour pontoon ride down the Mississippi. Fortified with fingerless gloves, cameras, hot chocolate, pistachios and atomic fireballs, we crowded into the boat with the others, all eager on this slightly chilly-snap day to see the fall foliage along the majestic river.
It was a rather riotous crowd, especially the Missourians in the back wondering if they could use the wild celery floating by in Bloody Marys.
The fall foliage looked like this:
A rather gorgeous tree.
Now, the captain told us that eagles were to be seen in plenty along the river. (This explained the binoculars some of the patrons were sporting, mixed in with their bags of Milano cookies, crackers and pans (!) of brownies.)
This is how you identify an eagle in a tree:
1. Look for a softball.
2. An eagle will be attached to it.
Lo and behold!
We all piled on that side of the boat in delight.
Eagle saying, “Hmm.”
This particular softball got a little tired of the scrutiny and decided to take off. Wouldn’t you?
Author Becky Benishek 
I love all the sites and tastes and touches (I can feel cold air on my face and warm chocolate in my hands) in this post. It’s a great reminder of why we shold get off the couch and go OUTSIDE on the weekends.
Sidenote: I wonder how many Americans have seen a bald eagle in their lifetime?
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Thanks, hon!
It was so delightful–and there’s something about having a collective, companionable group of people all feeling the same way at the same time that just made the whole experience that much more special.
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