Full Moon Kayaking and Boat Christening

All summer the girls and I have been talking about kayaking when the moon is full and also naming and having a boat Christening for the kayaks. We decided the time was right to combine the two goals.

I wanted the boats to have palindromic names since "kayak" is a palindrome, so the girls decided on Hannah and Anna as the boat names. We ended up bringing Aunt Jan's yellow kayak with us, so we ended up Christening it "Banana". Not a palindrome, but the girls liked that it rhymed, and I thought it an appropriate moniker.

We set out at sunset to our little local lake and barbequed some hamburgers. For a special celebratory dessert I made lemon bars. I told the girls that it was an old sailing tradition to eat something lemony at a boat Christening to ward off scurvy.

I topped the lemon bars with fierce looking pirates, who were to fend off any bad sailing ju-ju.

I made up a new verse to the What Do You Do With A Drunken Sailor song: "put him in a lemon bar till he's sober, put him in a lemon bar till he's sober, put him in a lemon bar till he's sober, Ear-lie in the morning!"

I think this sailor has learned a lesson!

After researching the internet, I found out that one should lay a branch of green leaves on the bow of the boat to ensure safe returns, so I had the girls gather branches for each boat. I then read the Christening Ceremony that I found on the internet.

At one point it reads, "The moods of the sea are many, from tranquil to violent." And just as I said that we heard a branch snap in the woods behind us, so I added, "and so are the bears." Whatever creature made the noise didn't bother us, so I continued.

We toasted with sparkling cider and dribbled a little cider on each boats bow "to appease King Neptune".

Then we set off on our full moon kayaking tour. The moon was just coming over the trees, and it was so gorgeous. Then it began illuminating the lake more and more. I wish I had a camera that could have taken good pictures of it all. It really was incredible.

The water was so still, and the surroundings so beautiful, I could've stayed out all night. I'm so glad we made the effort to do our full moon kayaking.

Venturing Out

Well, we finally got off our little neighborhood lake and ventured out to the high country. We camped for three days at beautiful Lake Alpine.

Paddling was a bit different. There was actual wind and waves to contend with. Quite a bit more challenging than what we were used to, but very fun.

Miss Moo and I had to paddle the boats across the lake to where everyone was picnicking and I was quite proud of her. When we got out into the open lake it was some serious paddling, and she did great. (Here she is below, before we got into the choppy water).

The dog was happy as long as she was in the boat with me:

We beached the kayaks on the granite islands in the middle of the lake and explored.

Saw some beautiful wildflowers...

And also saw my friend from work who kayaks with his cat. Yes, his CAT.

Can't wait to go on more adventures and explore more lakes!

Morning Kayak

The girls and I have gone out twice now on morning kayaking excursions. We love the evenings, but we discovered mornings are pretty cool too. We love sleeping in though, so we have to put in a little extra effort to get out in the morning.

We discovered that seeing into the water to find fish is exceptionally good in the morning. We were able to spy some really huge trout, and that was a treat! We didn't bring fishing poles, but the girls seem to be ok with just seeing them (and naming them of course).

We made our rounds of treasure hunting and came back with more fishing tackle and this time a fly (finally something I'm familiar with!).

Here the girls are extricating a hook and line tangled on this limb.

We saw our "goosey friends". The family of 3 adults and 12 babies we've watched grow since spring. It's nice to see all 15 of them are still healthy and happy!

and we discovered this beautiful feather floating on the lake. It's reflection kind of gave it the illusion of looking like a butterfly.

It's interesting the vibe of morning vs evening. In the morning you really get the feeling of the energy building: the sun climbing higher, more people arriving, the wind picking up, and in the evening it's all winding down. Both are beautiful times of the day to be on the water!

I'm Kinda Macho When It Comes To Loading My Boat

I feel so blessed to live so close to a lake. Today Miss Moo and I had an hour to kill and we just loaded the boat and went. That's just too cool, in my opinion!

I'm also feeling pretty proud that I can load and unload my 60 pound Kona completely on my own. 60 pounds doesn't sound like much, but when you spread it out over 11 feet it really feels like more. (Seriously, it's not just me being a wimp, I've had manly men grab one end of the kayak to help me carry it and they can't believe it's only 60lbs.)

And how cute are these designs that I found at Cafe Press:

I think I need some stickers.