boat on the lake (what a summer!)

Josh's parents recently put a contract on some land in North Carolina. Their piece of property is up on the ridge above Lake Nantahala. There are actually 4 families who bought an 8 acre tract (Bob Baileys, Len Autons, & two other families). Neither the Autons nor the Baileys have any immediate plans to build on the property, but they both plan to use their property for camping & day trips. In order to facilitate camping or just picnics, Jake (Josh's brother), Andrew (Josh's cousin) and Matt (Jake's friend) constructed a deck in four pieces & hauled it up to the property. This will provide an above ground tent pad or just a place to sit & eat around the fire pit.




What I'm most excited about is not camping, but getting on the water. This last weekend we had a foretaste of hopefully many such days on Lake Nantahala. We rented an 80 hp pontoon boat that could accommodate 13 or 14 people. We definitely tested out the capacity! The seats were cozy, there was plenty of room to maneuver without falling into people's laps, and Kate did pretty well walking around from person to person (or from snack to snack). She loved the freedom to roam around on a vehicle (something she cannot do in the car, of course!). And, she especially loved driving with her papa!


Kate also enjoyed being the only baby on this particular trip. Jen had a gig, so her family didn't accompany us. Kate was the star of her own show, and was able to spend a lot of quality time with her favorite people. No competition or shared limelight. Even Uncle Lenny got some respect on this trip! She is usually quite tentative around him. . not realizing that he is the sweetest guy. . and doesn't deserve the reputation she gives him of being 'sceery' or gruff. This picture was taken right after . . she touched his finger. Duh, duh, duh!!!!


Besides just boating around to see different parts of the lake, the major highlight of the trip was jumping off Super Tower Mongo the Second. Some of you may remember the original was an old jumping hole in MN that the Baileys affectionately titled Super Tower Mongo. This cliff deserves the name & more! The cliff is somewhat hidden as you approach. We turned the corner, and I could just see everyone thinking, this doesn't look that bad! Those who had jumped before, however, knew that looks could be deceiving. We made two stops at the Tower & many of our troupe of 13 gathered up courage & made the jump! I know my own strengths (and weaknesses) & declined! Andrew, Jonathan, Jake, Matt, Jackie, Josh, & Bob all made the plunge. It was quite something to see Josh take a few minutes to fly off that ledge. If he had pause, then I would never have made it. Later that evening, I had a dream of just climbing right up & walking off the edge. No thinking, just walking off. Of course, even if I prepared myself, I think I'd have a LOT of trouble taking that step into thin air.


This was my favorite picture of Kate.This is her obeying my request to Smile! She rarely gives such a big smile these days, on command, at least.


The problem with being behind the camera is that . . well, that I'm always BEHIND the camera. We got two family pics, though.



The lake itself is gorgeous! It's a mountain lake fed by the Nantahala River. (If you're ever in this area, the Nantahala Gorge is also worth seeing!). So, you get the beautiful water shifting from green to blue depending on the clouds and sun, and the mountains all around, with several layers of mountains in certain vistas. I told Brittny that I could hardly believe that this lake is OUR lake. It's like finding a treasure and knowing you'll be able to enjoy it for years to come.



Kate loved being on the boat & really thought that the 'pool' was pretty neat. We boarded the boat at 1, and didn't get on our way home until 8:30 pm. She took no nap, ate LOTS of sugar, and was generally sweet natured the whole day, until we got her in the car for the ride home. She napped for about 30 minutes, then woke up angrily crying, "No car! No like it! Hold you! (which really means hold me! of course)" and then just repeat. After 15 minutes of that track, we stopped for gas, and we were finally able to calm her down. Then she played & sang merrily with me until 10:45 pm. Finally, she dropped off to sleep. I simply could not believe it!