High Points From Shasta...

We're back from our week's adventure with the Austin clan at Shasta Lake. It was HOT, but the salvation was being on the water - always a chance to dive in and cool off. We'll each weigh in here with favorite moments from the trip.

Andy:

One of my favorite things about Shasta Lake was when I figured out how to water ski. I had been trying to water ski for quite a while. I finally water skied on the last day we had the speed boat. Once you get up, you feel really good about yourself. The first time I got up, I fell after about 12 seconds. Next, 20 seconds. Then, 45 seconds. Finally, I was up, and stayed up. Water skiing is very fun.

Matt:

Lake Shasta, CA. It's the first day on the houseboat. I do like having the ski boat. It is very fun when we attach an innertube to it, and when you hit a wave, you go flying. I got a good three feet out of the water.

Shasta Hot Spot, by the Mother:

There were many highlights of our time at Lake Shasta - good food (such as alphabet pancakes...), hanging out with my family, floating in the bays, learning to play Texas Hold 'Em, waterskiing. But what sticks out most in my mind is the funny night we slept out under the stars.

It was hot, hot, hot on the lake - in the 100s during the day, and 70s at night. The last night we just couldn't stand sleeping inside, even with the windows open, so we dragged our mattresses onto the deck and all four of us slept outside. Initially, the stars came out, and we pointed out the constellations that we knew. Then we fell asleep. The very full moon came out and was shining brightly on us all night long. At one point in the night, Matt woke up and said, "Why is the sun shining in my eyes?" Later, at about 5am, Chris and I both woke up. We were looking up at the sky and realized that a family of bats was doing fly-overs just a foot or two above our faces. We started giggling, which woke Andy up. He stood up to go into the boat to use the bathroom, and I yelled, "Get down!" Then we were all three wide awake and laughing. We didn't get much sleep, so it's good to be back in Bend where it drops into the 40s at night.

The Father:

I was going to write about our bat adventure, but my lovely wife beat me to that. I will add that yesterday morning, the Bend newspaper had a front page story about a woman bit by a rabid bat - it flew in her window while she was sleeping, and chomped away. Had we read that article BEFORE our little bat adventure, I don't think we would have enjoyed the show quite so much.

My contribution here will be the summary of those offerings we made to the Lake... I like to think of them as our payment to the Lake itself for the privilege of our use. Day 1 - Uncle Mike's expensive sunglasses - whipped off Andy's head by the tow rope (I don't really mean this, but it would have made me feel a little better if Andy would have at least ended up with a good scar as part of the story). Day 2 - Matt's goggles and Grandma Fran's walkie talkie - both gave in to the subtle and strong pull of the lake while someone was not quite paying close attention. Day 3 - Andy's goggles - as he tried to rinse them off in the lake while cruising at approximately 20 mph. Clearly, all of these things are replaceable, but it makes me thankful for dry ground, where I at least have the general opportunity to pick things up after I drop them....