Checking out some Water Sports

On the dock with Lyndi

Recently I had a girl's night with my friends Lyndi and Jamie and we tried out a fun summer activity, kayaking! Lyndi lives right on a lake here in Bella Vista.  Actually, all three of us live really close to different lakes in Bella Vista.  Jamie and Lyndi both have their own kayaks and we had a bit of a showdown over whose lake was better for our adventure!

I'm ready to go!!!

We got to Lyndi's house and she had a lovely spread of fruits, veggies, and cheeses for us to nibble on.  We had a few snacks and then headed down to the dock.  We had touring style kayaks and they were very stable to use.  I had to get a little instruction on how to use the paddles properly since I was a newbie to the sport.  We headed out for a tour of the lake and had a great time.  We took our time and chatted the entire way.  There were several others out on the lake and we said hi to all who we passed.  I would definitely go kayaking again especially with such awesome company!

On Sunday I went out for another type of water sport adventure...bass fishing.  I've been really lucky this year to be working on a project that has given me the chance to become friends with a pro bass fisherman.  This past weekend I headed to Alabama for a fishing tournament.  I got to go out and fish with the pro on Sunday morning while the top 10 anglers were fishing.  The lake was beautiful except I didn't get to see a ton of it.  I got in the boat and the pro casually mentioned that we were going to run 10 miles down the lake.  I didn't really understand that we would be running at top speed...70 mph! It was a super scary experience but I have a ton of trust for the pro and knew that he would be careful.  I didn't have my sunglasses on for the ride out so I had to look away or close my eyes for the ride.  (I put my sunglasses on for the return trip and it was so much better!)  We got to our fishing spot and it was not the best fishing.  There were schools of skipjack feeding in the area but we struggled to find any bass.  I did manage to catch a blue catfish and one smallmouth bass.  I'm still not a fan of touching the fish but I do enjoy casting and catching the fish.  This project has been one of the best experiences for me and I'm so thankful for the chance to experience something so new.

I didn't grow up doing a lot of outdoorsy stuff but I'm open to trying everything at least once.  How else would I discover fun new things! And maybe one of these days I'll hold a fish...I'll have another chance in a couple of weeks so I'll let you know if I get over my fear of their tiny little teeth.  So gross!