First, I just want to say that Big Brothers Big Sisters is such an awesome program! They are able to offer so many FREE activities to those who participate in the program. When the opportunity came to ride with John McKay, I immediately knew it was something my Little and I would NEED to do! John, who's boat is a certified Coast Guard boat, volunteers to take Bigs and their Littles out twice a week, every week, all summer. What a huge commitment and an extremely generous gesture! Riding with Mr. McKay means you will learn a little about the Coast Guard, much more about Lucky Peak and its surrounding shores and a whole lot about tubing! Seriana and I were lucky enough to snag a late July evening tour and let me tell you, it was a truly wonderful evening to be out on the boat! I LOVE being out on the water--especially when the sun is shining and the temperature is hovering at 100! Hot sun sparkling on a lake just oozes SUMMER! Ah, my favorite season! It is the waters of Lucky Peak that I don't actually care for. Okay, honestly, I'm terrified of Lucky Peak! It stems from a childhood phobia about an unfortunate ice fisherman who finally bobs to the surface . . . and "touches" me on the way by. I can't be in the water out there without getting totally creeped out! BUT, I will have you know that I was extremely BRAVE and did tube with Seriana. I'm not sure what was more frightening though, my ice fisherman phobia or TUBING! Tubing, as an adult, not so fun! When I was bobbing around, waiting for the boat to come around, I had to literally check to make sure all my limbs were still attached and all my teeth were accounted for--all the while keeping an eye out for Mr. Ice Fisherman. What an completely exhausting endeavor! I am proud of myself for being brave, but next time, I'm staying in the boat. It is soooo much safer there!
MR. MCKAY
AND HIS DOG CASSIE!
(boy was i thrilled to see her!)
YEAH, I THOUGHT SHE WAS PRETTY COOL!
~SERIANA~
At this point in the trip, John asked that I use his camera to document the trip--which I was more that happy to do--so I handed my little point-and-shoot camera to Seriana. She was so thrilled to get to take pictures all night! Unfortunately, we were never able to get the photos I took from John, soooo, the only pictures we have of the evening, are Seriana's! I got a kick out of her pictures but I was sad not to have all the tubing pictures I took! Oh well, not sure I want to remember the horror anyway! Here is the evening through little Seriana's eyes . . .
AH, A ROCKY CLIFF NEAR THE BOAT DOCK!
ANOTHER LITTLE ALONG FOR THE TOUR
AND HER BIG.
(gee, i waited so long to blog this, i can't remember their names!)
A BROWN HILLSIDE.
AND NOW THE BROWNNESS IS BLURRY!
A TINY LITTLE HALF MOON!
SOMETHING SHE WAS CONVINCED WAS AN ANIMAL BUT IT REALLY
PROBABLY HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE ICE FISHERMAN!
OH LOOK, HER TOES!
THE WATERS OF LUCKY PEAK . . .
GOING BY REALLY FAST!
OH NO, TESS IS STILL LOVING ON THAT LITTLE DOG!
ARROWROCK DAM.
AND THIS WAS MY FAVORITE PART OF THE TRIP.
WILFLOWERS!
I was so excited to see these particular wildflowers because I had never seen them before. You know how I am with my wildflowers! John had intentionally driven to this specific spot just to show us this little patch of flowers and when he saw how thrilled I was with them, he was very determined to get me a better view of them. He went to a GREAT deal of effort to get his boat close enough to the shore that he could leave his seat, dash to the front of the boat, pluck a stem and rush back to his seat before his boat bounced off the rocks! What an amazingly kind thing to do for this wildflower freak!
Unfortunately, this adventure was the last for Seriana and I.
It was a very hard decision for me to leave the Big Brother Big Sister program but working so much left me with little choice. I am grateful for the time I was able to give and for all that I received in return. It really is an amazing program and, maybe someday, I will be able to again return as a volunteer. In the meantime, I'll give every spare minute to my nieces, nephews and godson! Watch out, Auntie's on a rampage!