A Day Spent Out in the Boat

Juneau has really been blessed with warm weather this summer. Last week it got up to 85 degrees! 

And in our book, that's water-skiing weather!

And that's just what we did:

I know what you're thinking. 

You're thinking, "Emily, I don't see you in any of these pictures!" 

Yep, you're right. That's because I was in the boat, taking pictures and video, with NO bathing suit on. Unlike this new family I have married into, I'm not completely crazy. 

That water is COLD.

To prove my point, here's the face Abigail made when she put on the soaking wet and very cold life jacket before climbing out of the boat. 

That's not a happy face.







Here's Paul getting out of the water, and boy is he happy to do so!

Because of the warm weather, everyone dried off pretty quick in the boat, so they didn't have long to shiver once they got out.




Later that evening, we performed on a Princess Cruise ship. I think the audience was a bit mystified when we told them we had gone water-skiing earlier that day...

Like me, they must have known how cold the water was!


Here's Abigail waiting for us to swing back around with the boat and get her after a fall:

Notice how she's up on the surf board? Yep, it was cold, but I think Abby, Quinn, and Paul would say that the water temperature was worth the fun!

I made a short little video to capture the chilling fun. You'll want to see Quinn and Abby jumping off the boat dock, and Paul's (wearing a wet suite, the cheater) water skiing skill!

Making a Splash into Cedar Lake

Here's Abigail jumping for joy at the beauty surrounding her!

One thing Alaskans will never get tired of is having a sunny weekend.

Yes, it's true.

This last Saturday dawned fair and bright and super hot (for Juneau standards) at about 78 degrees. 

After a very full and busy week of work, Quinn and I decided a hike and a swim was in order.

Gathering a group of siblings and friends together, we headed off 'out the road' to the Point Bridget trail.

First we had to wait for the other friends to show up though, and that took a little while...

So after setting off a few fireworks and playing a few rounds of baseball with a rock and a log, we decided just to start without them. 

They had said they would catch up with us later.

The trail wasn't too long, just two miles to a cute cabin, and very flat and pretty.

The only downside? 

The bugs!

My sister Valerie would love to tell you all about the terrible and horrible bugs she saw on the trail, but it would take a while. 

Thankfully we remembered the bug spray (and for BIGGER things, the bear spray), so we were mostly safe.

Mostly.

Even with the bugs though, the lovely views could not have been beaten. Buttercups, irises, lupine, and pink shooting stars dotted the fields that we walked through.

Valerie's favorite flower, the chocolate lily, was also in bloom.

Don't let the name fool you! 

These flowers may look pretty (and have a scrumptious sounding name) but they smell absolutely terrible!

We don't recommend putting them in your floral arrangements...

Once we reached the two mile mark at the cabin, we took a break. The rest of our friends hadn't been far behind us, and together we started up the last .7 miles up to Cedar Lake!

Doesn't my brother Henry there in front look sooooo excited to be there?

He had plenty of fun, don't worry.

The last .7 miles were harder then the first two. 

For one thing, it was all up a mountain, but the first view of water had us all excited, and we eagerly sped up our pace!

We'd been hiking for most of the morning, and we were hungry. But all it took was one glance at the sparkling water for all of us to suit up and swing in!

When Paul was still working for the Forest Service, he put up the rope swing here at the lake. He climbed up the tree with a chainsaw and the rope and cut his way back down so that the rope would hang and swing freely. 

We were all pretty thankful he did.

We put a silly video together of all the best rope swing jumps and the one time we all piled on top of the raft (and the inevitable flip-over). 

We hope you enjoy watching it!