Sunday Nicole, Clarissa and I planned on kayaking somewhere where we could also enjoy a little swim in respite of the hot weather we've been having. After a very complicated adventure of trying to get three Kayaks, two dogs and three girls all secure and ready to go we found out our destination park closed early. Some frantic googling ensued and we decided to set out to Alouette Lake despite it most likely being crazy busy.
We arrived and after some running around in flipflops and trying to get Kayaks down from the parking lot and not the boat launch like the idiots we are, we managed to finally get us all in the boats and out onto the water. We arrived late and the sun was going down but it was perfect. Most of the partiers int their power boats were packing it up to leave so the lake was fairly quiet and very beautiful. We beached the kayaks and decided to swim. I didn't think of bringing my bathing suit but into the water I went anyway. It was amazing. The water was refreshing but still very warm and the dogs had a ball playing fetch and swimming with us.
I had the great idea of swimming giant stumps that poke out of the water and climbing on top of them. I didn't realize that they were freaking slimy so my clamber up was probably the least graceful thing I've done in a long time.
We paddled around some more and indulged in one last dip before packing up and headed home. We will have to do this a lot this summer!
We had rain for the first time in what felt like forever on the morning we packed up to spend the day at the lake. While I was rejoicing because it was so good to have rain to combat the forest fires and drought we've been dealing with, no one likes rain on a day they want to be outdoors. We passed through a minute long torrential downpour but the rain seemed to slow and stop as we pulled over and picked some blackberries. (Have I ever mentioned that blackberries are my absolute favorite?) After checking out some cool fishing spots along the river and coming across a strange missing pet poster of an ocelot, we arrived at Hayward. It was muggy still and grey clouds were thick overhead but that didn't stop us. We fished and kayaked and even swam a little! It was nice and not crowded as it usually is when the weather is beautiful so that helped. Our friends even caught their first fish! They were so excited it was hard not to smile like an idiot as they pulled up their catch. The boys even brought up a crawdad which I have never seen in person before. He was an angry little dude and we had trouble putting him back as our attempts to free him were met with pissed off pinchy fingers. We ended up playing crib and picnicking on the boat launch until late in the evening before we decided to pack it up and head back for home. A cloudy day but a good day!
