sneaking away for a few moments to kayak between thunderstorms

oh man, this summer's weather has been rough.  whenever we've had a moment of availability, the weather has been insanely humid with nasty thunderstorms.  of course, anytime the weather has been nice, we've been working.  we just can't seem to catch a break with this summer's forecast!

on friday morning, we snuck away for a few hours to get our kayaks back in the water before yet another thunderstorm rolled in again.  we took our kayaks to the lake at gouldsboro state park.  there was hardly anyone there and it was so nice.  our shoulders sure were sore the next morning, but it was worth it!

love, laurie

a kayak date on the lake

for y-e-a-r-s we have been talking about going kayaking but it always gets pushed off.  we've kayaked together in various locations on vacation, but never locally.  last summer we finally decided to go but there were no kayaks to be found in stores or online because of the pandemic.  this year, we bought one in early may before they sold out.  it's been hanging in our basement ever since waiting for a day when we were both free to get out on the water.  

the stars finally aligned and we were both able to take yesterday off work.  we picked up ryan's kayak from high school from his parents' house and pulled my new one out of the basement.  we drove up to lackawanna state park and enjoyed several hours on the lake.  

even though it was overcast and cool, we had ourselves a grand time!  we were only 14 miles away from home, but we felt like we escaped far away from the craziness of our work schedules for a few hours.  it was so therapeutic!  

we got a great workout (my shoulders are sore from all that rowing) and saw a ton of wildlife too!  it was a great day and we can't wait to take our kayaks out again!  here are a few photos we snapped on our old water camera . . . .

love, laurie

topsail island 2015 - part 2

we had such a great time in topsail island this past week.  while we were there we kept busy with a lot of activities.  we walked up and down the beach, swam in the ocean, and went boogie boarding.  we had so much fun riding the waves on the boogie boards.  we even got my mom out on a boogie board too!  (i just wish i would have captured a picture of it!)

we also got a chance to go kayaking.  we crossed over the sound into the marsh where we saw several jumping fish, egrets, and osprey.  it was a lot of fun and a good arm work out for sure!

you can see part one of our trip to topsail island here

love, laurie

topsail island - part 2

we had such a great time in topsail island this past week.  while we were there, we kept busy with a lot of activities.  in addition to swimming in the ocean and walking up and down the beach, we rode bicycles on the beach one morning after breakfast.  it sure was a good leg workout to pedal on the sand, but it was a lot of fun.  

ryan and i also went boogie boarding in the ocean a few times.  we had a blast riding the waves.  we couldn't believe how warm the water was, it felt like bath water!  

we even got a chance to go kayaking too.  when we got in the kayaks, we crossed over the sound and into the marsh in order to get out of the way of the big boats that were sailing up and down the channel.  (seeing a big motor boat heading straight for you in a kayak sure is good motivation to paddle fast!)  navigating the kayaks through the marsh was like trying to find your way out of a corn maze with water in it.  while we were in the marsh we saw several jumping fish and a few egrets.  the first time we went kayaking, ryan went in a single kayak while my mom and i went in a tandem kayak.  later in the week, ryan and i went back out in the tandem kayak.  it was a lot of fun, and we got a good arm work out for sure!

you can see part one of our trip to topsail island here

love, laurie