Lost Lake

P had his first lake experience this weekend!  Unfortunately, we, uhm, didn't realize it was a lake experience sort of expedition (yah, which one of us do you think did the research on this jaunt, eh?) and were completely unprepared to enjoy said jaunt, but that's another story ;)

We thought we were going to hike in the mountains by a lake.  So we packed the picnic, the hiking boots (which, lo and behold, come to find out, as of this week can no longer stretch to fit swollen pregnant feet!), the polar fleeces.... Ya know, mountain hiking stuff.  A little car sickness, a few pee breaks (I'm fairly certain I have now peed along more mossy roadsides in the last two months than many woman do in a lifetime...) and a very cranky (due to immense hunger and previously mentioned problems) pregnant lady later, we pulled into a... whathef*@#?  A lakeside retreat.  With boats and bathing suits.

Expectations are a bitch, really.  E and I were immediately disappointed, having hoped for cool mountain air, conifers and quiet.  Of course, this all has to be relayed through eye movements and sneaky sighs, so that the kid can translate his day without our bitchy baggage ;)  The child, still fabulously living in the moment, popped out of the car, all vim and vigor, happy as a lakeside clam.  Some picnic munchies later and our balancing blood sugar was able to try and meet the kid's happiness.

He actually said, "I am So happy!" When he jumped out of the car.

A little walk around the lake (to call it a hike would be blasphemy) and a little playtime by a tree base was all we could fit in before the child's extreme excitement about the boats he'd spied became the focus of the afternoon.  So, we went to see a man about a boat.

The child was so excited, he walked this ledge all the way back, tapping his stick in time to a little ditty he made up.  Something along the lines of "we're going to rent a boat!"  Chanted over and over and over again ;)

They rented per hour and that sounded like about as long as E and I were interested in ;)  But once we got out onto the lake, everything melted away into the peaceful mountain getaway we had originally hoped for.  The weather was fabulous, the sun low enough for comfort, the backdrop really beautiful.  Not to mention that the kid was t-h-r-i-l-l-e-d.  He sat, completely captivated, watching his father, carefully looking over the edge for snakes or salamanders, barking out directions...

I am a geek.  Family portrait ;)

After watching E row us for half an hour, the kid wanted a go.  Oh my lord, that was one of the most enjoyable shows I've ever seen.  Talk about unschooling in action.  He set to it and worked it until he was actually moving the boat the way he wanted to.  Granted, we did lots and lots of circles before reaching that point, but determination paid off.  He paddled us back to shore, turning and angling like a mini-pro.  I snuck a little video of him (see below) and his mouth movements when he's concentrating crack me up.

As do a couple of comments (that have been covered by the music - the sound quality was really shoddy.)  First, after struggling in circles, he tries turning his body the other direction.  He quickly realized this didn't work so well and turned back around, saying, "Getting the right position is weally twicky."  Then, he asks "which direction are we going?"  My ever supportive response, "Ummm, well, kinda circular..."  :)  And then, after he started nailing a rhythm, he asked if he was doing an even better job than Papa had ;)

On the way home (for which he sat, completely contentedly in his carseat - again -still blowing my mind!  Is this the same baby boy that couldn't stand his carseat for 3 seconds when he was little?  I keep expecting requests for DVDs or entertainment, but he seems to love to look out the window and watch the scenery fly past.  Score for worry number one in moving out of the city...)  At any rate, on the way home, he asked three times, when can we go back to Lost Lake???  Hehe, next time we'll know to bring water shoes, bathing suits and towels ;)