Best Fishing Buddies

Back Blipping:

We just arrived home from a six day extended family adventure. First stop was Rend Lake Resort in southern Illinois. Yesterday's blip was from that first evening at Rend Lake.

On this day we arrived at Green Turtle Bay Resort in Grand Rivers, Kentucky (a part of the Kentucky Lakes system). Our two bedroom condo, that we shared with Owen and Olivia (and their parents), was on the water. The deck overlooked a quiet bay and provided some of the most spectacular views I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Altogether our family had four of these two-bedroom condos and each had similar views. We were there with our children, grandchildren, and Ned's folks, siblings, and their children. It was a blend of people with a common goal of vacationing together for what might become an annual event.

As soon as the cars were unloaded my taxman and his fishing buddy went out on the deck to get their rods and reels ready for some fishing activity. Little Owen learned how to work his, letting out the line while dropping it over the side, then reeling it back in, with only a sinker for weight - no hook or bait. In fact, his never went in the water, which was fine with him and us. He enjoyed watching his Papa fish from the shore below, which was too steep for a three year old to maneuver. There were, in fact, swimming turtles in the bay (hence, the name, Green Turtle Bay); some were large and all were active. Owen enjoyed spotting them and pointing them out to us from the deck.

We rented golf carts to get around and boats for water activities. One of the biggest joys was Thursday, the day we rented a large pontoon boat and anchored it out in various bays while all of us swam and floated in the lake. Another day my taxman and I rented a fishing boat and fished all afternoon. I caught a good sized bass (my first fish that actually put up a fight). It was a quiet afternoon with the quiet electric trolling motor leisurely pushing us around.

Thursday Nikki & Ned opened the sealed envelope that they carried around for four days, to announce to both families and themselves, the gender of the baby - truly the highlight of the week.

Saturday brought rain and thunderstorms but the men went out fishing anyway while the women and children spent time at the indoor pool.

Sunday we drove home (an all day road trip) but met up with Nikki & Ned for lunch, which made for a very nice end to a wonderful vacation.

As I backblip this today, Monday, July 13, 2009, I can say that it's good to be home.