Shasta Lake - Social Distancing

Towards the end of May we decided to take a little trip down to California and visit my Dad. 

The boys had been stuck at home since MARCH and were going a little stir crazy. Not that we don't have a lot of things to do around us...but they are things the boys have done a lot. It was not feeling quite like a break to go to the local rivers and reservoirs. 

California would be perfect, we would be able to still socially distance, but be in a completely new environment. When discussing and planning some of the activities we could do while down there, we decided it would be fun to take his boat out on the lake, visit Mount Lassen, maybe go fishing on the local river...

After many discussions we had it all planned out, the kids schools had all been contacted, I had requested and taken my personal days. We were ready! 

Days before we left my dad started morphing the trip we thought we were going to take. Instead of taking the boat out on the lake for a day, it was now that we would take the boat out on Lake Shasta and camp along the shore overnight. This was fine with us, because it meant more time fishing. It just meant we would shave off a few of those other experiences.

Then as we got even closer (the day before we were leaving) it was no longer that we were going to camp overnight off of his boat, but instead get a cabin at one of the marinas for three nights. Somehow we committed to this, and the plans were then set! 

We arranged dog and chicken sitters, and were ready for our new adventure.

We left the house mid morning, because check in was going to be around 3pm and it is a 5 hour drive from our house.  We were a little over an hour away from the cabin when dad called and said he had some bad news. 

Apparently not long after he left his house heading to the lake, the axle on his boat trailer broke!

 

He said there was black smoke and sparks flying. Luckily he was able to turn around and take it back home without any damage to his boat. It did leave us in a pickle. We couldn't cancel the cabin without losing out on money...so we decided to still head to Lake Shasta and figure out a different boat option.

We got to the cabin and unloaded all of our things. My dad had picked us up some dinner, so we all ate and then the boys headed to the pool. Brent went to purchase the fishing license and then he and my dad headed down to the marina to check out our options for renting a boat. 

They joined the boys and I at the pool and enjoyed the setting sun and ridiculously amazing weather. Then we headed back to the cabin when the bugs started to come out. We sat on the back porch of the cabin and played some games. Then we put the kids to bed and played some cribbage. We called it a night after a few rounds because we were going to get an early start the next morning.

Brent and my Dad ended up getting a patio boat. It is a big floating platform with a bathroom, BBQ, stereo, and benches. Apparently it was the best option for what we wanted. We were also hopeful we could buy an inner tube or some floatie to drag behind the boat, because Dad forgot to grab his out of his boat. We got up early and were ready to get it at the 8am check out time. Unfortunately the store at the marina was closed. There was one kid working and it was only his 4th day on the job. He was all alone and not quite proficient at everything yet. So we headed out with what we had. It was perfect and we had a blast. 

The following pictures uploaded in reverse order...So we are kind of starting with the end of our first day on the lake.

 After spending the entire day out on the lake, we dropped the kids off at the cabin, ate dinner, and then headed back out for some fishing. Brayden stayed to watch his brothers. I didn't really take photos of the adult fishing adventure, because it was as exciting as it sounds. We had no real bites and we didn't catch anything. We did, however, see an abundant amount of bass.

So here the pictures begin when we were driving back to the marina to drop the kids off.

We saw lots of birds and other wildlife. We were taking pictures of a nest of an Osprey that was at the top of this tree, that was almost bending parallel to the lake. It was crazy the tree was still standing.

Some of the birds were circling this dead fish carcass in the water. We helped get it to shore.

The boys mini dance session

We were even able to keep our nap schedule.

Brayden turned 16 while we were on the trip. My sweet baby is growing up way too fast.

The boys must have collected 5 or 6 different "walking staffs"/"magic wands" while exploring the different shores.

The water was a little cooler than I remembered, but it was May! Plus it was 100 degrees out, which makes any water feel good, but a little cooler.

This is when we just left the docks and went to our first cove to fish and explore. It was early in the AM, but the sun was already beating down on us.

We just boarded the boat and started to leave the dock.

Brayden was the first one on the boat ready to head out on the lake. It was early, especially with our distance learning schedules, which have been a little more flexible.

We checked in and claimed our beds. The view was amazing. I LOVE this lake. The contrast of the colors, the weather, the wildlife. We have always had amazing experiences here.

We went swimming right after eating dinner. It was so warm and the pool was open until 10pm. We had it all to ourselves until we were done and ready to leave. So it was perfect timing. Especially since the boys opted for spraying each other with their squirt guns while I yelled at them to "walk" or "use walking feet" the majority of the time. The only one who was walking was Emmett, but that is pretty typical.

And that was the beginning of the first day on the lake, in reverse...

On the second day we were going to head out early and get the fish! However, our late night fishing adventure was less than fruitful. My dad suggested that due to the level of bugs and little baby fish we saw that the fish were well fed currently, and our bait was just not appealing to them. I liked this explanation, as it had nothing to do with our lack of skill and know how. So we decided to sleep and head out when the sun was up, up the next morning. I twas nice to have a slower less scheduled pace.

We ate our good breakfast, prepped the food for the day and headed out for our last day on the lake.

We thought we would try to find a shallow cove where the water may be warmer...

The second day on the lake we did not get our nap in, so there was a little cranky behavior towards the afternoon.

We utilized the BBQ and made hot dogs and smores.

August and Emmett almost snuggled themselves to sleep at one point.

Emmett was always the first one in the water. He LOVES swimming and being in the wet stuff.

We had some smores too!

In one of the coves we went to there were these cool rock formations and aside from our boat moving the water was like glass.

We fed the fishies some of the cheese that was left over from lunch. They were swarming in the shade of the boat. Emmett enjoyed watching them and "fishing"

I caught a few fish, but only was able to keep two of them. I was so excited when I got a bite I forgot that I had kids who would like to reel them in. So thankfully my husband was there to remind me of this. Emmett went ahead and caught the fish!

On one of the guys hikes Brent found a little baby turtle in the creek. He brought it to say hi to us and Emmett let it go after about an hour of watching it play in water in an upside down Frisbee.

I was having a great hair day and Brent pushed me in. I had to document how slimy gross it was after he did that. He was very proud of himself. 

I kept swimming, but wouldn't put my head under. Apparently the temptation to tackle me in water was too strong for him. Now that I look at these pics I realize it didn't look as bad as it felt.

The boys taking Emmett on a walk with their sticks.

Although this was not the trip we initially set out to take, it was just what we needed and we all left feeling fulfilled and rested. We hope to go back again soon. Maybe we can get more people willing to camp lake side and we could get a bigger patio boat? Either way, I love making memories with my guys. Just wish Mitchel could have made it.