Monday, June 24, 2013

our weekend 'staycation'

It was a gorgeous weekend in Georgia...hot, but not unbearably so...and it actually managed to stop raining for a few days, so we tried to make the most of the weekend and spend as little of it indoors as possible. For as much as I don't like to sweat,  I sure do love spending all day long out in the sun on the weekends. Which means that by all accounts, this was a great weekend.

Saturday morning we rolled out of bed in a timely fashion and made our way out to The Sandbar to spend the afternoon kayaking down the Broad River. We've kayaked the Broad each of the last two summers, but both of those years we were in the midst of a deep and long-lasting, Code Red, Level 10 (ok, I made that part up) drought. Meaning that there was barely any water in the river and we basically had to walk 5 miles dragging our kayaks behind us. It took forever and it was a whole lot of exercise. But THIS YEAR, thanks to days upon weeks of rain, we are officially OUT of the drought and the rivers are FULL! Everyone I know who's gone kayaking this year raves about how awesome it is getting to actually FLOAT the whole time, and how it's way more fun that previous years. So obviously we needed to get on it, and the time is now...before the rivers dry up again! Don't delay...row today. Something like that.

You know how sometimes smart people do dumb things? Well here's Exhibit A from my personal experience this weekend. I decided to take my iPhone kayaking with me. In a (non-waterproof) Otter Box. But I put it in a Ziplock bag for protection, which is obviously brilliant. Or...not. I don't know what I was thinking. I definitely wasn't thinking about GOING OVER RAPIDS and GETTING DUMPED OUT OF MY KAYAK...along with all of my possessions. I need pictures! I'll take my phone!...was about all I thought of. Not smart. Big shout-out to God for keeping me (and my phone) safely in the kayak the whole trip. Please try to picture me each time I approached a rocky section/rapid, wrapping my Ziplock-bagged phone in my tank top, squeezing them between my knees, praying that my knees didn't flail apart as I tried to keep my balance over the rapid...sheesh. I think it took a few years off my life, but at least I got some fun pictures. And I won't be repeating that idiot move in the future. Trust me. 


Other than phone-related stress, it was a wonderful and fairly easy ride down the river. We stopped to swim a bit and watched lots of turtles getting suntans. Afterwards we were starving, so we stopped for Mexican at a hole-in-the-wall and had some amazing puposas (me) and tortas (Matt). I swear that Athens (and surrounding small towns) has some of the best Mexican (and Salvadorean) food in the world. And I've actually been to Mexico a few times, so obviously I'm an expert. Boom.


After arriving home, we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and fact that we were already sweaty and gross and knock out some other sweaty/gross chores: mowing and washing our car. It was a very productive afternoon.

Sunday after church we decided it was time to make a big purchase we've been debating all summer: the inflatable pool for the backyard. Since all of you were wholeheartedly supporting this purchase, it made it pretty easy to convince Matt that it was a great idea. And then we found a $22 pool at Aldi and it was a done deal. We even sprung $5 to get a pump to blow it up. I know...we're high rollers.

After a tasty lunch on the grill, we spent a relaxing afternoon in our backyard resort.


Pretty much the only thing missing was a waiter bringing us drinks. Oh, and water over 6 inches deep. See, our preferred location (see how nice it looks from my bedroom window?) wasn't exactly what you'd call level. I figured this would not be a problem. I didn't mind if it was deeper on one side. We'll call it the 'deep end' and be done with it! Unfortunately, that's not how it works in the world of inflatable pools. What happens is the 'deep end' caves in and your water dumps out everywhere. Who knew? So after enjoying the pool for about 30 minutes in that location, we had to empty it, move it to the far back of the yard where it's a bit more level (and way more visible from the road/neighbors' houses) and start over.

It's not in as pretty an area now, but at least the sides aren't collapsing, so I guess we'll call it a win. After we were done swimming (hahaha) we decided to fashion a pool cover out of a plastic dropcloth, Ziplock baggies filled with rocks, and duct tape. It was pretty brilliant, if you ask me, and very effective. So now our pool won't get grass, leaves, and bugs in it. And it'll be all ready for us to cool off in after work (and working out)! I can hardly wait to embark on this new life of leisure...a home swimming pool...whatever luxuries will befall us next??!

We patted ourselves on the back for being 'adventurous' two weekends in a row (last weekend biking the Augusta Canal)...it makes you feel like you didn't totally waste your days, you know? Matt called our weekend a 'staycation,' since we did fun and relaxing things while basically staying at home. I thought that was a pretty fair assessment! We're looking forward to ANOTHER fun outdoor adventure next weekend for our anniversary!! Apparently we're hitting up every single fun outdoor thing in the state...if you're familiar with Georgia outdoor attractions (with an emphasis on FUN and SEMI-ACTIVE), feel free to recommend any we're missing!! Have a happy Monday!

21 comments:

  1. Looks like a fun weekend. So jealous of your pool!

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  2. A certain husband of mine would be rather jealous if I told him about your kayaking adventures! I know I would enjoy doing it but the logistics of renting things, figuring out what to wear, etc. would stress me out... which is basically the story of my life for any activity that involves logistics. Anyway, enough about me, glad you guys had a fun weekend "staycation!"

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  3. I honestly can't decide what the better part of your weekend must've been... your kayaking adventure or the amazing blow up pool!!

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  4. I'm totally jealous of your kayaking trip and inflatable pool! I'd like to do both now!!

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  5. YES! I've been waiting for the blow-up pool post! That thing is AWESOME! Love it! And I'm very impressed with all of your outdoorsy activities because golly geez it was HOT and STICKY on Sunday! Glad you had a good weekend!

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  6. Love your pool! We have the same one from Aldi's only we purchased it three summers ago and it's still holding strong. Great investment, haha! Enjoy your pool time!

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  7. What a fun weekend. Brandon and I really need to get out there and be more adventurous! LOVE that you got the pool!

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  8. glad you had a good weekend!! I didn't realize Aldi had this! We got it at Target for $26, but yesterday's ad it was $20!! I will be getting my receipt adjusted. hehe. Glad we are twins. Brilliant idea on the pool cover. There are a lot of leaves, etc in ours, but I figure it's still better then the pool down the street with the kids urine :)

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  9. So I checked out the Sandbar website and there are some serious rapids! Now I'm even more impressed that you were able to keep your iphone (and yourself) safe and dry in the kayak the whole time. That is a very strong commitment to picture taking and I respect that!

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  10. this looks likes a definite WIN of a weekend!! I lived in GA for four years and yuo could not even water our lawn all summer, so I am so glad you can actually kayak this year! (althought it is probably due to the same flooding I am now experiencing in Iowa...but I am still happy for you). And the backyard pool is just frickin' adorable! I want one! I wil see if our Aldi has one for $20!! how logn did teh water stay cool? did it turn into a hot tub?

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  11. I am jealous of your kayaking! We live really close to a river, but the current is so fast that it would not be a relaxing float. The last couple days have been cloudy/yucky here so I am not as jealous of your pool as I normally would be.

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  12. You're so adventurous! I would have been obsessing about the phone, too, considering how worked up I was one time when I lost a tube of chapstick while floating a river with the youth group. I am still annoyed about it...

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  13. Looks like you guys had a great weekend! I'm jealous...I want to go paddling and I too want a pool in my backyard!

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  14. We live near Helen which, if you like to be in the water, is a great place to go tubing! And there are a few great Mexican restaurants... but you really want to go to North Georgia BBQ instead!

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  15. Sounds like fun! I'm a bit jealous of your ability to pack up and kayak on a whim.

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  16. That sounds like an awesome weekend!! I used to love to float the Broad, although it was a lot more pulling the kayak than floating. And I was always sad that I never had pictures because I wouldn't take my camera. (Pre-iPhone days...)

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  17. Kayaking AND an awesome backyard pool!!! That is definitely a weekend of wins!

    And now I want Mexican food...

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  18. WOW! I have a waterproof case for my phone and didn't even bring it out with me. Which, considering I lost way too expensive sunglasses, I'm glad I left it in the car, though I'm sad for a lack of pictures.

    Please invite me soon to come swim at your pool. And by "swim" I mean sip on a beverage (bucket list item!) with a book while sitting in the pool.

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  19. I love everything about this! Staycation, pool, Mexican food... it's all good!!

    I work for a daily deals website (try to contain your jealousy, please) and many moons ago we sold these amazing, perfect fitting waterproof phone cases for iPhone. It was hands down the best thing I ever bought from a deals site. We took them on our snorkeling trip in Cayman and literally everyone on the boat was demanding to know where we got them. If you see them, get them! So much safer than a Ziploc.

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  20. Fun weekend! I love doing new, active things at home. Makes me feel like we were efficient with our weekend, while still being adventurous! You have inspired me.

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  21. This all sounds so fun. Every moment of it.

    And I love your sandals.

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I love comments almost as much as I love Mexican food. Seriously.