My Saturday for SMT 79

It's time for another SMT on the Sassy Cheryl Blog. If you're a regular reader here, this is a chance to share with friends and bloggers what is happening in your corner of the world. Not only do you get a glimpse of other's crafting, crafting spaces, but it's also a time to get a glimpse of other places outside your little corner of the world. Oh and I forgot to mention, you're also in the running for a free Sassy Cheryl's image, so just how can your lose?

I love to think that I'm a person of diverse interest(think this is a nice way of saying I can't stay focused on any one thing too long). This past weekend, three of my buddies and I went to Sylacauga, Alabama to kayak Lake Howard and hike some of the trails adjacent to the lake. I loaded two kayaks and drove over to Birmingham Friday, to spend the night with one of my friends. We got to spend time together with a lunch out and some shopping and then back to her house for some time in her pool with another member of the kayaking party whose a neighbor. We loaded Carol's kayak, and then her DH grilled steaks to put a perfect end to a fabulous day.

Saturday morning we were up at 5:30, brushed our teeth, donned our clothes and were out the door at 5:45. Quick stop to pick up Jules, who was waiting for us at the curb in front of her house, and we were on our way. We did have to make one stop at McDonald's for a latte for me(my day doesn't get going without one) and coffee and  oatmeal for them We pulled up in the Walmart parking lot in Sylacauga at 7:02 to meet up with the fourth of the kayaking musketeers, and then we were on our way to Lake Howard. Lake Howard is the water supply for the city of Sylacauga, so boats are allowed, but no swimming, no skiing and no jet skis.  Here's a picture of the Lake along with the hiking and boat trails adjacent to the lake.

Red line indicates kayaked waters and blue line indicates hiked trail(about 3 miles)

It was a perfect day with lots of cloud cover, so that the sun wasn't beating down on us and it wasn't too hot. This is  a picture of the cloud cover which was most unusual.

First off was kayaking, because if you don't want to be contending with the effects of paddling into the wind, it's a smart move to be on the water as early as possible(let me interject at this point, that we weren't early enough). Gail, the fourth of the musketeers says she learns something on every trip. This time she learned about paddling into the wind, and no matter what direction you're going the wind seems to change and blow in your face. So here's a picture of my 3 co-harts in crime.

There are no houses around the lake. This with the fact that the lake is fishing, canoeing and kayaking only makes it one of  the most pristine clean areas I've ever seen. There was no trash or debris anywhere.  This next picture is a picture of a huge rock formation we went by and one of a Great Blue Heron in flight.

 

The kayak run back to the dock had all of our arms feeling like jello. It didn't stop us from the second part of our adventure which was hiking the trails around Lake Howard. We opted to do a short 3 mile hike, which was in and around the Ridge Loop. This is a picture I snapped along the trail.

By the time we got back we had been exercising for 3 1/2 hours and were ready for lunch, so we hit a great Italian Restaurant, before doing a little antiquing. Then it was back to Birmingham to drop off Carol and Jules, and another couple of hours to home. My son-in-law had cooked dinner, and thank goodness we were invited, because I was way too tired to cook.

We're already planning our next trip which is going to be a two day adventure.