Mini-Vacay...the Bassmaster Classic!

It's no surprise that Andrew loves fishing. I enjoy it too, it's just been something I haven't done much since I was pregnant. Back then, I just didn't want to be stuck in a boat all day...everyone knows you have to pee more when you're pregnant. Now, it's just that we have a little man and don't want to take him out on a boat all day. Finding a babysitter to come over before 6 AM is tough.

Even if I haven't gotten to go fishing much, I still really enjoy following the pros. We went to the Bassmaster Classic (the "Super Bowl" of bass fishing) back in 2009 when it was in Shreveport, LA and had so much fun that we knew we wanted to go back if they were ever close enough again. Last year it was in New Orleans, which would have been super fun, but we didn't want to leave Carson yet. It was back in Shreveport again this year, so we were definitely going. We booked our room almost a year in advance with my Marriott points (which are almost depleted now...boo).

My mom was going to meet us there and help with Carson, but because he ended up with strep and wasn't back at 100%, we decided to leave him at home and have my mom come here. We also knew that keeping track of a toddler there might not be so fun. He'll probably REALLY enjoy it next year. It's up near Tulsa, OK, so we'll probably put that on the calendar.

So, what all do you do at the Bassmaster Classic???

-Go to the boat launch... pretty cool to see about ~50 fishing pros with their fancy rigs essentially parade in and take off. There is just a lot of energy and excitement about the tournament... what's not exciting about someone winning $500,000! Plus, it's fun to watch the sun come up once in a while.






-Check out the Expo... pretty much a Bass Pro Shop or Academy on crack... it's a HUGE expo with tackle, boats, gear, etc. Most of the pros that didn't qualify to fish the Classic or are fishing legends and retired from the Elite Series are there too and available for pictures/autographs. Professional fisherman are normal people and so much more accessible than pro-anything else. I think that's one of the things that makes it so cool. It was SOOOO crowded this year which made it a little less fun than last time.

Bill Dance!


"The Bachelor", Byron Velvick


Shaw Grigsby


"Bass" Wishes from legend Rick Clunn


-Go to the weigh-ins. Each night of the 3-day tournament, the pro's pull their boats into the arena and weigh their catch in front of the crowd and give the run down on how the day went, what they caught them on, etc. The first night is probably the least exciting, the second day determines the Top 25 who get to fish the final day, and the third day is the big show where the $500,000 winner is determined. This year, we only went the first night. It's open seating and it's free, so it's always SO crowded the second and third nights. I'm kinda sad we didn't go to the final weigh-in, it really is exciting.

I didn't bring my camera when we went the first night, so here are some final weigh-in pics from 2009... you get the idea....






-Just hang out. We stayed on the Louisiana Boardwalk on the Red River. There were a bunch of restaurants, shops, outlets, kid stuff, etc. Pretty cool. It was great to have that within walking distance of our hotel. We ate Buffalo Wild Wings TWICE! :-) We like wings. I got a couple dresses at the Banana Republic outlet and got C quite a few things at the Osh Kosh and Gap Outlets. I WISH we had something like this on the Neches River...so family-friendly and a great place to go on a pretty day!


We didn't feel like waiting in line for a couple hours to get into the final weigh-in, so we brought the lap top to Buffalo Wild Wings, sat outside at the bar (it was a BEAUTIFUL day), ran to Verizon to buy some ear phones, and streamed the live weigh-in online. Perfection. Yes, we looked like nerds.


I splurged and got cotton candy!


We had a BLAST but I missed my munchie SOOOO much. There were kids EVERYWHERE, which made it that much harder. I'm so thankful that my mom was able to watch him this weekend because it had been over a year since Andrew and I had a weekend to ourselves. It's weird, I sometimes don't seem to remember how to function when C's not around. I feel like 1/2 of me is missing.

Even though I think Carson probably would have been fine and certainly would have had plenty to do, I know they had fun though... Nana came to visit and they went to Baytown on Sunday afternoon to visit Wannie & Papi. A few pics from C's weekend....






The word on the street was that the pups were the difficult ones, not C. They are needier than he is!!!

Congrats to Chris Lane on his first Classic win!!! He's a great guy and it was well deserved!! We are looking forward to following the Elite series in 2012 and the Classic next February in Tulsa.