Hangin' with the Hastings

Here's a little bit of what we've been up to....mostly paddling around on kayaks, exploring new islands, and a bit of rainy day fun.

  We've started outgrowing our single kayaks, so we recently picked up a couple tandems.  Plenty of room to get us (and the dog) all out on the water.  And we still have both of our singles & a canoe waiting for any of our guests :-)

Sunset, on the water, with nobody else around....worth the paddle every time!

Cora swims like a little fish with her life jacket on.

Swimming just off shore of the island...we used the boat launch at Hub Stacy's, paddled across the intracoastal and made our way to one of the larger islands.  The islands are a nice place to swim and relax with shallow water and little boat traffic.

  

 

~B

Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy......

Birthday, Nick!

Classic, Nick pic....he's really turned into a helpful, thankful, and fun kid.  We're pretty lucky to have this great five year old.  Nick's pretty excited to be five, too.  He's been waiting a long time for this day! 

Thanks to some great friends, we were able to spend the day at Caribe, taking full advantage of their vast amount of pools.

Just chillin on the lazy river.

A couple of cuties, Carsyn and Cora.

No tube required for these guys.  They spent quite a long time floating this current.

After a day of swimming, Nick wanted to take pizza to the beach, and what an amazing place to have dinner!

Sun-kissed face from spending way too much time swimming.

Little sis helping to open gifts, of course, while trying to convince us that it was really her birthday.  But she assured us, "it's commin up."

Backyard, splash toys give hours of entertainment when you don't have a pool.

Nick wanted birthday pie instead of cake for dessert, so we sang happy birthday as loud as we could and then dug in.

Just as we were packing up to head over to the Wharf, this handsome Ranchero shows up.  Pretty hard to resist a man in a straw hat wearing a linen table cloth.  

Good looking crew on the ferris wheel.

Nick insisted on making the trip to the Wharf for a ride in the sky because it was his birthday.  It's just about becoming tradition, and you can't beat a sunset at this high up.

~B

Catching Dinner, Almost

What a beautiful night to go out and try to catch our dinner.

Eyeing up the catch.

The cast.

So Proud!

Not Bad!

Now we're getting somewhere.

Showing off the big catch.  

The release. 

These fish have a bit more growing to do before they can do our dinner justice.

--B

Water Filled Fourth

It was nice getting back on the water for the Fourth of July.  It was a perfect day for swimming and kayaking in the Gulf.  We spent the morning at Johnson Beach, had a relaxing afternoon at home watching the storms roll in, and then made it back to the beach after dark to watch the fireworks and an incredibly beautiful full, orange moon rising over the water.

-B