Bye Bye Baseball.... Hello Hunting and Fishing

Summer is upon us here in South Texas.  It has been quite some time since I posted due to career stuff and our other outdoor family passion.. Baseball.  Rest assured though that I am still quite the avid outdoorsman and continue to have a great passion for getting our youth hooked on the outdoors.  My disappointment escalates as the weeks fly by on the calendar without a chance to get on the water or in the woods.

Unfortunately, deer season came and went without a shot fired for my family. I don't think we even had time for bow targets in the backyard.  I was able to get to the lease a couple times during bow season, but that was about it.  So, as deer season closed out, I vowed to get into the woods for some shenanigans involving a turkey and a shotgun, but that opportunity never surfaced as my nose remained firmly pressed against the proverbial grindstone.  In addition to being a partner in Twisted Oak, I also flip houses and with the real estate market hot here, I have been VERY busy.

Baseball is also very much a big deal around our house as my oldest son Cole plays both Little League and select/travel baseball and I coach.  Fifty or more games per year is not at all uncommon (in fact, it may be a little low).  We shared a dream of going to Williamsport to play in the Little League World Series since he was about 5 or 6, but as I have recently learned through experience is usual with that dream, well intentioned adults have a way of pursuing it so fervently that they destroy the dream in many kids (and adults) with the constant pushing and prodding, league politics (from the international level on down to the local level), and cheating the system.

Recently, we have found a great organization (Texas Pro United) here in San Antonio that has a great coaching staff of former players and coaches that have a well rounded approach to the game and truly prepare their athletes for success in high school and beyond.  Because of the reasons listed above and the reality of knowing I will never change it, I have decided not to seek re-election to the Board of Directors for our local league in order to chase this dream.... Getting kids outdoors!  

We have recently taken holiday opportunities to hit the river in our Malibu kayaks to have some fun. While we still have baseball commitments over the summer, the schedule will open up to allow more hunting and fishing.  More on these exploits next time.

46 Outdoors Adventure Files: Sunday Funday

Photo: Chris Carson

The Malibu Kayaks are finally in at Twisted Oak.  They arrived in mid August right before school started.  As you may or may not remember, we gave Cole his very own Mini-X from Malibu Kayaks for his birthday back in June. He has been waiting patiently all summer for it to arrive.

As they were expected to arrive the week prior to heading back to school, he had a plan to spend the last day of summer kayaking with the family on Canyon Lake.  The poor guy's hopes and dreams were dashed again by mother nature.  That weekend, we had along steady tropical type of rain that had the Guadalupe River running high and fast.  Since it was raining, I spent the whole weekend at the Unfair Lures booth at the San Antonio Texas Trophy Hunters Extravaganza with Paul and the crew.

Photo: Chris Carson

Baseball, football, and a little hog hunting warm up for deer season have stolen every weekend since then, so yesterday was the first opportunity we had to get the yaks wet.  All three kids had a blast, but I'm sure if you ask the teenager, she will tell you how grueling our paddle was and how Cole doesn't know how to paddle a kayak and how adorable Cody is, but her smiles paint the real picture! I have faith that she will soon let go of the sibling rivalry and accept things for what they are and learn to enjoy life as it comes. Until then, I will continue to exercise my patience and she will continue to test their limits!

Practicing his Taekwando.           Photo: Chris Carson

Cole and Cody on the other hand were quite happy with the experience.  We launched at Boat Ramp 11 (Rebecca Creek) and paddled upstream on Rebecca Creek for about a half mile or so.  Cody decided he wanted to go swimming, so he "fell" into the water while I was messing with my fishing rods. So, I told the kids they could take a swim.  They abandoned their yaks under the tree they were sitting under and headed for the middle of the creek to splash and play. Cody swam over to them as well and all three kids had a blast floating around in their PFD's.  Ater about 20 minutes or so of that, we headed back toward the boat ramp doing a little fishing along the way.  "Little" being the key word.

Malibu Mini-X serves as a cannonball platform.
Photo: Chris Carson

Cody lost yet another fishing rod to the murky depths of Rebecca Creek.  In my younger days, I
probably would have gone in after it, but you know what the song says... I'm not as good as I once was!  We paddled back and past the boat ramp, and headed to the Guadalupe River.  Then headed upstream for about 20 minutes.  It was during this paddle that our ears were assaulted with the soud of my daughter hurling every insult she could think of at her brother who probably could have out-paddled me.  Did I mention that she had the fastest boat and the paddle that moved the most water?

After awhile, we stopped at a bend in the river where the kids enjoyed more shenanigans.
 Flips, belly flops, and cannon balls were all in order from the Malibu Kayaks Mini-X.  This boat has some pretty exceptional stability as does my Stealth 14.  All in all, we all had a great time.  It was an absolutely wonderful way to enjoy creation, spend a little family time together and thank God for our blessings on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Cole on his Mini-X
Photo: Chris Carson

Brothers
Photo: Chris Carson

Cody's attempt at a cannonball
Photo: Chris Carson

A little after 6 PM, I decided it was time to start back.  Cole who had what I thought was the lightest paddle with the least surface area and no scoop, traded me for the heaviest paddle.  Which I then traded to Caitlyn,(so, they effectively traded paddles) to give her (what I thought was) the lighter paddle that Cole was using (turns out that hers was pretty light too) and low and behold, you would have thought I put a motor on her boat.  She beat us both back.  I don't know if it was the psychology of having what she was convinced was the better paddle (that her brother had been hogging the whole trip) or if having a paddle that displaced less water actually helped the situation.  I will probably never know.

We were very pleased with our Malibu Kayaks.  My Spider Angler seat from Crack Of Dawn Paddlesports was comfortable for a 4 1/2 hour trip and I could have gone longer.  Stability was great on both boats.  I'm a stealthy 265 lbs, and I can swing both legs to one side of the boat to look in my crate or reach the cooler.  I will have a more in depth review coming after I spend more time in it and actually get to fish rather than babysit, but for now, come check them out at Twisted Oak Hunting & Outfitter Supply.  You won't be disappointed!