Today Fred and I took a little trip to Oklahoma City while the girls stayed back at the lake. Fred being a born-and-bred Californian from Santa Maria, improperly winterized his boat at the end of last season and had to have the engine completely rebuilt. The shop told him it would be ready today so I accompanied him on the 150 mile drive each way into town to pick it up.
Ava and Jaiden by now are the best of friends. Jaiden loves to play big sister to Ava and Ava is happy to finally have a friend since we parted ways with Sophia and her family back in Galveston, Texas nearly 3 months ago. They spent the day playing in the lake and hanging out at the campsite.
On my drive to Oklahoma City with Fred we got to catch up on what each other has been doing and I was glad to see him having a lot of success in his real estate ventures.
Besides picking up the boat, we had to take care of a few of his work relate errands. We stopped by one of his many apartment complexes that he now owns and manages. This is not one of his nicest complexes but I was pretty impressed. Now I know if we ever became homeless, we could come here and beg my buddy Fred “Don’t call me Donald” to spare a two-bedroom 🙂
It took awhile to get back to the lake but when we got here, we could not wait to christen the boat for the its inaugural launch this season. The water was absolutely amazing. Being still early in the week, there was hardly anyone out on the water.
Mila was not quite big enough for Ava’s old life vest and she looked a little like a pink turtle wearing it.
The boat ride was an instant hit with Ava. She has never been on a boat like this before and loved every second.
Here is Fred in his element. In a boat with his family and friends at Tenkiller Lake on a beautiful afternoon.
Tenkiller lake is full of natural harbors and coves. And on a day like this when no one is around, we could actually just find a quiet part of the lake and let the kids jump off the back for a little swim. We could not believe how much has changed since he was last in California. I now have 2 kids and he, on the other hand, has a lot more apartment units.
Here is a photo of our last camping trip we took to Jalama Beach in California in 2003. Jalama is one of the best surfing beaches in northern Santa Barbara county and being addicted to surfing is one of the reasons why I still have a hard time leaving southern California.
Well, Fred has solved that problem. Wake Surfing. It is one of the more popular sports people now do behind a boat. In fact, his boat is designed to be able to kick up a good surfable wake and as long as you can find a body of water, you can surf behind your very own wave.
“Ava, we are moving to Oklahoma!”
In reality, wake surfing is probably only 5% of the ocean surfing experience. There is no waiting for the wave while sitting on your surfboard staring at the horizon. There is no jockeying for position with the crowded southern California line up. There is no being caught inside of a big set, holding your breath trying to get to the surface. There is just riding waves. The 5% that all surfers dream would last forever.
I have actually done this once before. Here is me wake surfing for the first time in 2002 during a visit to my brother’s in northern California. I think I had a grin stuck to my face for a few weeks after this trip. And guess what, it is back.
We never thought Oklahoma would be this enjoyable. But it is easy when you have great friends and beautiful sunsets like these.
over and out,
dan
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