Kayaking in Texas

So, I've had my kayaks for a couple of weeks now, and I have had a chance to get them out on the water a couple of times. The first time we went, we did take the camera with us, but I still haven't gotten around to downloading the pictures from the camera to my computer. Oh well. Maybe you can seem them in a later post. Regardless, here's how things went.

For our first outing, it was just Leah, Abbie, Emma, Sydney, and me because Reagan was at play practice. We all went out to Lake Lavon, about ten minutes from my house, and put the yaks in at one of the boat ramps. Nearby, we noticed a relatively clear shore, so we thought Leah, Emma and Sydney could head that way while Abbie and I paddled the yaks over.

After getting life vests on, paddles in hand, seated in the yaks, etc. we started heading over, but Abbie caught a little wind and started drifting. The next thing I know, she's screaming like she lost a limb and she's not paddling at all. I pulled up beside her and held her yak while she calmed down a little, and then I pulled her back to the boat ramp. Leah came over and swapped places with Abbie and we headed over to where the other kids were.

As soon as we got there, Emma and Sydney both wanted a ride, so I put Emma in my lap and Sydney in Leah's lap and we made circles in the lake. The little ones absolutely loved it, and Emma even helped me paddle a little. After a while, Abbie got in my yak with me (she's really too big to fit) and we paddled for a little bit. She was not all interested in going out by herself again.

After we got back in the truck, I finally found out what had happened on the water. She told me that she was afraid of floating past the sign. Huh? What sign? She explained that she was headed toward the "No Lake Zone" sign. Oh! I told her that it really said "No Wake Zone," and then I asked why floating past it would be an issue. She said, "Well, you said that we were kayaking in the lake, and out past that sign wasn't lake anymore." That's Abbie for you; it generally only makes sense in her head.

The next day, Reagan got her turn. Just the two of us went up to a small lake in Farmersville, and we paddled around for a little over an hour. Reagan looked like one of those yard art birds with propellers for wings, and I told her that I finally found a solution to burning off all the sugary snacks from church. That girl was cutting a wake across the lake and even when we left she was still bouncing off the walls. She had the best time in the world and asks nearly every day when we go back.

I did take her back out this past Saturday. We didn't get to spend much time on the water, but we went to the north end of Lake Lavon and paddled up under a bridge. That was the coolest thing in her mind. She was disappointed, though, that we couldn't stay longer and that she couldn't go with me on Sunday.

On Sunday I took Dad out to Lake Lavon. We went to a new place in search of one of the feeder creeks for the lake. At first, Dad was a little bored, but then I gave him a mission. I told him that we were in search of a creek on the north end of the lake and he set off in search. With a mission in mind, he was more engaged and seemed to have a better time.

We found the creek, we waded in the water, and I even stood in my kayak for a little while. It was great. I never did get to fish, but we did see some decent size carp and a couple of little bass. On the way back, though, Dad was injured. Somehow he managed to get a stick up under his cuticle on his thumb. I'm not sure I could do it if I tried, but it apparently hurt. I thought an elephant was getting attacked by a crocodile with all the racket that was going on, but was just him with a splinter. I told him to stick his thumb in the water to get it to stop bleeding. The water was only in the mid-fifties, so either the cold or the bacteria would clog it right up. Dad wasn't too keen on that option, though.

Anyway, the kayaks are great, and exploring in them is fun, but I can't wait to actually get to fish out of them.