A little boat ride...

Finns are BIG boaters! On the one hand, it makes sense since there is so much water surrounding the country and so many lakes within the country.  On the other hand, it's a little surprising to me due to the fact that there are really only two or three good months to be out on the water. But I've decided that Finns are much heartier than, say for example, Chicagoans. I used to sail and there is no way I would be on the water on some of these cooler Helsinki days!

But I was pretty excited when one of Rob's colleague's at the University invited us to take a little ride on his boat with his wife and him.

When I saw the boat, I was a little concerned our family of five wouldn't fit--but never fear...

...with the kids and Laina in the front and Rob, Veka and I in the back, we all fit!

There are so many islands to visit in Helsinki! It's so much fun to just motor from one big rock to the next! But you really need to know what you are doing. Some of those rocks barely break the surface of the water!

(Of course I had visions of us hitting the rocks and all being catapulted out of the boat into the water!)

We stopped for a little while on a "public" island.

The view, as always was stunning--see all of the islands?  That's one of the things I love about Finland!   

I guess the view in the water was pretty interesting too! 

Thanks to our hosts for a lovely afternoon!