Enjoying the ocean, lakes, and streams
Some activities near the water
Ever since I moved away from the ocean, and to the middle of the United States, I have grown to love other bodies of water all the more. I never actually saw so many lakes, pond, rivers, streams, creeks, etc, along the coast line. So it is a trade off for sure. I love the water, and tried to capture some of our times near the water on "film".
The first ones are from a lake in Texas. It is a manmade lake, and one of the first things we saw upon moving there. It was one of the last things we visited before we left, as well.
If nothing else, I love just being near the water, able to look out on it. That, and a cup of coffee or tea is so nice.
Fishing
As of the last few years or so, fishing has become a real favorite for my younger son. He is 12 now, and I love to take him whenever I can. He recently caught his first catfish just last week, and was so excited. We went fishing again a couple days ago, as it is summer now, and he caught some bluegill and sunfish, and also caught a crawdad. I just caught a sun fish, but my favorite thing to do is to watch him fish anyway.
One of our favorite places to go is Rock Bridge, in Missouri where some of our family lives. They live outside of Rock Bridge, and we have gone back for my son's birthday the last two years. We catch beautiful rainbow trout there!
The quickest way to fish around here, is to go to my paren't house, whose neighbor has a fishing pond that we like to stock. This is where he caught his catfish. It had grown a lot in the last year!
The other place we go is a wildlife preserve and you can fish there anytime it is open. It is almost always open, just not at night time.
Boogie Boarding
We love to boogie board in my family! Our favorite ocean to do this in is the Pacific, they most always have great waves, sometimes too big! I grew up boogie boarding whenever I could. It is a rush and a lot of fun especially if you catch the wave just right. Before you know it, time has flown by and it is time to go.
You can see a picture of my son boogie boarding. We also like to body surf, and just jump into or dive into the waves.
Fire pit and barbeque at the beach
Whenever we make it back to California, we always have a tradition of having a fire at night at the beach. We are safe about it, and do it in a designated fire pit. We bring hot dogs, marshmallows, chips and soda and all kinds of fun things. We play in the water a little, but not as much as the day times, and watch the sun set every time. Collecting any shells we can is another favorite thing to do. At the fire pit, we tell old stories and jokes and have a good ole time. Its to the point now, that when we go back there, its not a matter of IF we are doing our beach night, but what day and time.
Fishing at the Beach, and deep sea fishing
One of the favorite memories is deep sea fishing for our family. It was so great to get this opportunity! We caught lots of mackerel, which wasn't the favored fish, but it was still very fun. Many caught larger fish which was so exciting. We had lots of live bait, and the seals were biting off all the but heads of the live bait! Those are some smart seals! We hope to do that again.
This summer, we hope to go pier fishing, and shore fishing off the beaches. This will be brand new for us, and I am so excited!
