Paddle Punts

Oxford, England is known for its colleges. I have a lingering fantasy of what my life might have been like as a student there. I would learn to navigate a bike over cobblestones, study ancient manuscripts in the Bodleian Library and drift down the river in a punt, one of the small boats steered by a pole. Last week I walked along the Cherwell River early in the morning. Two guys were wrangling the punts, getting them ready for the day. At the back of the flotilla were some brightly colored ones. They were "paddle punts," Similar to the little boats you can rent on any lake. Traditional punts are notoriously hard to steer. Perhaps these punts are the equivalent of a bike with training wheels. I’m game!