IYAK-ing at Summit Part 2

Yes, I've got some more pics to share from this past Saturday! 

The rest of these pics were all taken from Paula.  The previous post's pics were from Lisa, Erich, and myself.

Hi Erich!

Andrew is 14 years old-- nice smile!

Ed-- knows how to keep a Subway sandwich fresh; that separate container was clever.

Paul and I.  He has really interesting things to say about kayaking Lake Superior.

Max, he handled his yak like a pro!

Me, embarrassed-- I look funny all bundled up in my yak.

 A couple group pics:

Jason-- a waterfall of knowledge.  He taught me in the first 5 minutes of the day, what a bulk head is, (mine came loose from the hull), and how I need to dress for the water. 

Being a part of a group a great idea when it comes to learning about something new.  I can't wait til our next adventure out on the water.

From my kayak, I spotted an array of waterfowl, turtles, and a beaver.  I didn't see any fish, despite wearing polarized glasses, but the water was just to choppy.

Lisa, and her pretty smile:

Lisa, Paula, Ed, Andrew, Erich, Max, Jason, and Paul:
Thanks for the fun day on the water!  Ya'All Rock!

IYAK-ing at Summit

Hey Ya'All!

I've had an awesome weekend!  Saturday, I kayaked at Summit.  The water was quite choppy when I arrived.

 

The weather was windy and I was concerned with getting soaked from the spray and being to cold. The temp. was 37 degrees when I got there.

The group from IYAK (Indiana Kayakers) agreed to rescue me if the choppiness was too much for my recreational kayak.

The longer kayaks cut through the choppiness much better.  Some of them even have rutters to aid in maneuvering.

Luckily, I didn't have any troubles.

It's so nice having a group of friends to yak with.  Paula's pretty smile:

Time flew by.  We picnicked at the other end of the lake, and surprisingly I was colder off the water than on.

 The wind calmed a bit too, as the day went by.

Their were still gusts of wind that made paddling a serious workout.

Also, I'm glad I had on my neoprene fishing waders, since I don't own a yak skirt.  They got wet, but kept me warm and dry.

The experience was good for me, since I now know more of what my yak can handle.  Plus, Paul lent me his extra paddle because his was longer and lighter than mine.  It made paddling much easier!

I wasn't the only one with a fishing/recreational yak there.  Andrew, the boy in the blue sit-up-on, was there with his Dad, Ed.  They both had fishing yaks and the three of us made a b-line for the ramp at the end.

Here's the causeway where I ice fished less than a month ago:

What a pretty day!

My gloves got wet when I first started out.  Thankfully Andrew had an extra pair on him and they kept my fingers from freezing.

As Ya'All can tell from the pic, I really got me some color!    :)

I was greeted by this girl when I got home:

And she brought her friends over:

I think they were checking to see if I had planted my garden.

Kite Flying and My New Purse

Holy Buckets, has it been WINDY here!  Plus, after the winds, came the rains. 

The other day, everyone in the house came out for some kite flying fun.

I was trying out a retractable leash on Sophie and it was sooo windy that I was certain I was about to have a real live dog kite.  :)

The wind made the kites go crazy.  Poor Glenn, his bird was more interested in dive bombing the ground, than in flying.

I've been doing a lot of walking/hiking now that the weather is mild.  If the wind would calm down, I would have been on my bike by now.

Also, I picked me up some roller skates to use at the gym.  Yes, seriously.  Only I returned them to the store today, because the ankle support was broke and wouldn't latch properly.

Plus, I got treated to lunch today, by Karen from church.

We ate at Puzzles, the new place in town.  It's a casual place, yet has entrees such as quail and duck on the menu.

We each had the Casablanca sandwich.  It's turkey, cheese, avocado, grilled pineapple and sweet mango sauce on a homemade bun.  It was delicious!

And we shared a Creme Brulee for dessert-- decadent!  Did I feel guilty for indulging?  Not at all, I have some calorie torching activities lined up for the weekend.

Later that evening, Gladdie and I went to Claires, as she had earned $5.00 and it was burning a hole in her pocket.  She was all about buying glasses.  No, her vision is fine.  These are strictly for fashion and all the new rage!  As you can see, she even had me trying on a pair.  Hey-- they matched my jacket!

Her plan is to wear them to school along with a new hair-do and play a trick on her friends.  She is going to pretend to be someone else and see if anyone will fall for it.  I think they might!

In other news, I got me a new PURSE!  Nope, no Prada here, it's actually a personal floatation device (pdf).

What sold me on it was how compact it was and the fact that it's worn like a fanny pack.  Anyone remember those from way back in the 90's?

So, it all stays nice and tucked in the little fannie pack until I need it.  Then I just yank the string and it inflates.  The pack has a little window to view if the indicator on the co2 cartridge is properly set. Green means it is good to go!

Here's what it looks like on me when I'm in my PJ's:

Even though there was a lot of rain coming down, I felt my chances of drowning were fairly slim so I shut it off for the night. :)

Mississinewa

Monday the kids went back to school, (thank goodness), from being off an entire week for Spring Break.  To celebrate the return of school, and get what's left of my sanity back, I headed out to Mississinewa for the day. 




I started fishing near the boat ramp at Red Bridge.  Crappie were biting there.




The wind was really blowing, and in the wrong direction!  I had to find a spot to fish where the wind would help my cast.

Also, I used my open spin 6 foot bass rod for a change.  Turned out, 6 foot was rather short for the double jig under a bobber technique.  Who knew?  Slip bobbers were a nono as well.  That's what I started with and it would not work properly.  People were helpful and giving me advice left and right.  The lady in the above pic actually felt sorry for me and put minnows on my hooks so I could catch a nice crappie.  It didn't work, but nice of her just the same.

Part of my trouble was that I needed lighter line, a longer pole, and more finesse.  Eh-- lesson learned.  I got the fly rod out of the truck and fished down the river past the dam.

The water was so very muddy that I don't know how any of those fish were able to see anything.  It was a nice day to get out though. 

Kayaking at Summit

The weather here in Central Indiana has been gorgeous lately!  It was so nice this past Sunday that I took my kayak out on Summit Lake.

 

I had my fly rod in the truck, but Glenn dropped my yak and me off and drove away!

Him and the kiddos went to do other stuff while I paddled around the lake searching for fish.  All I found was ducks.  Hundreds of ducks!  (See all those little black spots on the water = ducks.)

When Glenn and the kids returned, Gladdie took the yak out for spin.  

I was hoping to get to fish seeings as how I had deduced where they were.  The thing about kayaking is I'm all alone-- which I really like, but it makes spending time with the family rather tricky.  I've yet to think up a way to keep em busy while I fish.  Anyways, I'm going to have to return to Summit soon and get my fish.
 

 Happy Yaking!