The 5 "T's" of Boating

We just returned from our first boat outing of the year. We made plans in the spring to spend the night at a cottage at Loon Lake (near Reedsport) with the Whites. Loon Lake is one of the few sandy-shore fresh water lakes in Oregon, so we set off with high hopes of glassy water and sunny skies. Instead, we were greeted with choppy water and overcast skies within an hour of getting on the lake. Oh well, we still had Brayden and Mikayla both "laying" on the knee board, Stephie out on the intertube with the kids, and myself trying the wakeboard (for the second time in my life) and being so out of control that I was actually doing a few tricks without trying.....obviously, that didn't last long. It is one slippery thing to try to master.

We petered out quick on the lake and were eager to get into the cute little cottage across the street. We went on to the lodge and got our key, as well as some snacks - and headed back, only to open the door and find "somebody's been sleeping in my bed". It wasn't Goldilocks either - apparently, they had given another family our cottage that was supposed to have a smaller cabin. Not a big deal if other places were available, but they only had 3 cottages and with two families, a two bedroom location was a necessity. So, we got to hang out at the lodge parking lot for an hour (watching a Wonder Woman DVD - let's just say that special effects and acting in general have come a long way......). If we were irritated, you can only imagine how that family that got "evicted" felt. How awful!

Can't say we were super impressed with the place once we finally moved in - it was TINY, but clean, a little awkward in that we had to walk through the room that had the Whites to use the bathroom or even get to the living room or kitchen from our bedroom. (Apparently, there was no space for a hallway).

This morning we awoke to more overcast skies, and by the time we turned our key in - drizzle. Well, ok, then - time to find another lake- we ended up at Cottage Grove Lake - in the sunshine (for the most part) and had a delightful day. Pictures to come, when I am not too lazy to get up and unload the camera.

good times with Mikayla

Mikayla using the "knee board" - don't think she's quite caught the concept, but, hey, whatever works

Brayden, oh so close, to getting up.....

Note the amount of water that came into Brayden's side of the intertube - they "caught a wave" literally......

Driving with Daddy.....

As for the title of this post - I've devised our 5 "T's" for choosing a place to take our boat. (This is for you, Pete and Hollie, if you ever get that boat). With so many lakes in our area, here's how we've been able to evaluate where our favorite places are:

TIME - The amount of time it takes to get to a place. This will be at least 30 minutes and up to an hour and 15 minutes. This is one of Hills Creek Reservoirs striking points.

TEMPERATURE - I am a huge woose about being cold - even with a wetsuit. Both lakes today had awesome water temperature, but the closest lake to us, Dexter is freezing........

TURBULANCE - The general "quality of water" - (glass or not) that a lake has. Suttle Lake will always be axed for this reason, way too windy.

TERRAIN - I'm also very picky about how pretty a lake is (or not). I think Fall Creek Lake is beautiful, but can't stand Fern Ridge - I need a pretty forest-like setting.

TRAFFIC - How many people are using the lake. This is the main reason Fall Creek Lake gets axed, it's got the other four T's, and everyone else thinks so too. This is also based on how big the lake is, as to how many people it can handle. Triangle Lake is so small you can all only go one direction.

Hasn't this been informative? All the stuff you never needed to know, but I spent way too much time trying to find synonyms that begin with a "T", not to write it down!