Kayaking with Jeanna

When an old friend of mine from our Kenosha days found out we lived on the lake and showed an interest in coming out to escape the heat I suggested we take the kayak out on our own. Wayne hasn't been around much this summer because he's always working overtime and it's kind of hard to paddle a tandem kayak by yourself! It's also a challenge to get it down to the lake and I soon found out it's harder to steer than he makes it look, too!

Does this kayak make my hatchback look too big?

Jeanna's first time in a kayak and she does it with so much style!

There was enough wind to make steering amusing. Seriously, I don't remember the last time I laughed so much!  Lake Elizabeth is really shallow but really clear and sandy...where there isn't tons of weeds. All those weeds are good for the fish to live in though and Jeanna spotted a blue heron fishing who was close enough for us to enjoy before he lifted off, but not close enough to capture with a point and shoot.

Excuse me while I steer us directly into the weeds.

As long as we're here I'll take a picture and pretend like I planned this detour.

We worked so hard we paddled all the way to Illinois! Sounds impressive...but I'll be honest with ya and admit that the state line passes right through the lake.  After all that hard work trying not to just let the wind spin us around in circles we landed onshore to have a drink at the Tiki Bar. I'll also be honest by telling you that the drink was so awful I only drank half. Jeanna helped me finish it after she was done with her Corona. I figured we were doing such a good job making fools of ourselves for the afternoon that we might as well ask the waitress to take our photo.

After talking so long that they had to come over and pointedly ask us if we needed anything else (please leave, hint, hint) we relaunched and went for a quick swim before heading home. I don't get to hang out with a friend very often, so I'm one happy camper today! We even ate turkey burgers in the fifth wheel when we got back to my place. That counts as camping, doesn't it?