As one of my other friends put it... we did Valentines "Our Way"! We did not get all dressed up and go out to eat at some fancy restaurant. There were no roses, but there were of course some Ghirardelli chocolates in a heart shaped box. They were my favorite flavors too... caramel, raspberry, and white mint filling... yummy! (I get candy often since Andrew can't have it... he lives his candy fantasies through me.) What we did do was get up Saturday morning after a big breakfast and drive up to the lake. Several years ago we discovered a place, Midlake Kampground, which I have finally forgiven for the dreaded sin of spelling with a 'K' when it should be a 'C' (HUGE pet peeve of mine!!!). Anyways, it's nothing special, but they have these somewhat cozy little cabins that my mother-in-law probably would never stay in... sorry Wanda. :-) Some are better than others, but they are right on the water and have a porch swing. It's just comfortable and relaxing. We have gotten to know the owners very well and they just drive up on their golf cart, beer in hand (this is East Texas), and will just sit and chat about anything and everything for as long as you want to. One of the residents has previous fished professionally on the B.A.S.S. tour and it just taking a little break and guiding and doing some local tournaments. He's also one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. Andrew is just in heaven talking with both these guys about fishing and what not. They were actually the ones that first told him about fishing as a co-angler in the BFL tournaments. Good thing they did because in his rookie year last year he finished first in the points standings and now has a spiffy jacket with his name on it to prove it!
We got up there around lunch time and decided to give fishing a try for a couple hours. It was pretty cold and I had on all my layers... thank God for Under Armour! Fishing was hands down the worst it had ever been, and usually this means Andrew isn't in the best mood, but this time he wasn't. I wasn't either. If I'm not catching anything, I usually end up just playing with the pups or taking pictures. I LOVE fishing when we're catching fish, but when we aren't, I tend to have the attention span of a two year old. We didn't work at it too long and decided that a fire, fajitas, s'mores, and the Olympics sounded like a much better plan. So that's what we did. We went on a rock hunt to build a fire pit, lit up the little smoker, and had ourselves a pleasant evening.
Usually trips to the lake mean that I don't get to sleep in. Luckily, fishing wasn't the priority on this trip, so we did get to sleep in and have a delicious breakfast out of a box. Those Jimmy Dean sausage sandwiches and omelettes are actually pretty good. We normally get a cabin with a kitchen, but that didn't work out this time. Again, it was pretty chilly, but not near as bad as on Saturday. Again, the fishing was terrible. Andrew caught two, which, after talking to a buddy who fished a tournament at Toledo this same weekend, two was actually really good. The vast majority in the tournament didn't catch anything, much less even get a bite. The bald eagle got two also, except it took him a lot less time. Even though I have been fortunate to see quite a few bald eagles out in the wild, they still fascinate me. They really are majestic creatures (until you see then swarming trash piles in Alaska and realize they aren't that much different than other, far less attractive preying birds). Fortunately, this one lived up to the majestic standards.
It's moments like this when I wish I had an incredible camera with some huge lens...and to not be in a moving boat. Ahhh, the pictures I COULD have gotten. After he caught his fish he flew right over the boat. Man, he made fishing sure look easy.
A storm decided to blow in Sunday night, so we just stayed put inside the cabin and ate our deer steaks and watched the Olympics. Andrew brought me a surprise... hot chocolate, and of course we had the marshmellows for the s'mores! I was always to full after dinner to have a s'more, so I just had one for breakfast... after I ate my real breakfast! Hello truck driver's appetite... you have arrived!!!
Monday morning we got up fairly early and headed home, back in time to work by a reasonable hour. I don't think we realized that this was the LAST Valentines we had alone, except we weren't really alone... we had two pups at our heels the entire time. I guess they are preparing us well! :-)
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