Fun in the Sun
So much for Autumn...
Today was an amazing day for October, and we saw a mostly clear day, with temperatures up to 80 degrees. As a result, my family and I finally got a great opportunity to put our new Sea Eagle 330 inflatable kayak to good use. It was a bit overcast at home, but at Shepherd Lake, it was outstanding. In fact, by 3pm, the sun was more prevalent than it had been earlier in the day.
First, I went out for a short ride with each of the kids, but after I went paddling around for a while, I came back and let my wife try it out by herself. She claimed to have a good time... 
No, seriously, she had fun as well, but all three of the children took to the water like little fish. My daughter went out for an extended ride by herself, and then we let her brothers go out together. We took some videos via phone camera, but because my daughter was paying more attention to the action itself than to filming it, the videos give the impression that they were taken by drunken sailors... (The video was motion-sickness inducing where the actual action was not!)
After everyone got a ride, I went out by myself for a little bit, while my children convinced some nice strangers to show them how to fish. Now, they're bugging me for fishing gear. I could complain, but I won't. I'm much happier having them enjoy the outdoors and participating in some skillful activities vs the couch potato alternatives.
I'm excited that we finally had a chance to go out to the lake this year -- did I mention that the weather was incredible? (It was warmer today than when we went to Shepherd Lake back in August.) Given that everyone in the family really seems to like this whole kayaking thing, it's pretty clear that we're going to have to get a couple more craft to accommodate everyone by next year. Not only did the children enjoy themselves, but they maneuvered about in the water pretty nicely, considering that they had never rowed a kayak previously. After I edit the videos, I'll post one or two of them to my gallery...
The Sea Eagle 330 is more than adequate for the rest of the family, but in all likelihood, I'm going to need to get myself something just a little larger to fit my 6'5" frame into. I don't have anything to complain about when it comes to inflatable kayaks, either, but I will take the time to consider a hard shell the next time around. Cost is a factor, of course, but it's not like some of these inflatable kayaks aren't expensive as well!
Anyway, we had a good time for 3 or 4 hours, and it was a great way to end the Summer, even though the Summer was supposed to have ended 2 or 3 weeks ago...
About Logik!
Andrew S. Baker aka ASB aka Logik!
Andrew is an accomplished, hands-on IT Executive with a solid track record of providing timely and cost-effective business solutions using technology. With over 16 years experience in Information Technology, he has proven to be effective both as a Team Leader and as an individual contributor in designing, deploying, securing and maintaining enterprise networks.
His personal interests include Astronomy, Basketball, Bible Study, Chess, Comics, Computers,
Family Life Ministries, Reading and Strategy/Role Playing games...
Some of his contributions include several whitepapers on technology and Information Security, the UltraTech Knowledgebase, various postings to technology mailing lists and forums, active participation on LinkedIn Answers, along with a number of interviews for articles published in industry magazines.
A condensed version of
Andrew's current resume is available here.