Fun, Sun, Big Fish

By usual standards, 2020 Father's Day for the Love family was pretty weird.

No "family bonding," as Annie always likes to encourage.

We went our separate ways---gals to the river, guys to the lake. 

Maybe weird but probably will rank right up there as one of the most memorable ever. 

We did have a brief moment or two of bonding as Annie, Bill and I sat in the living room while Bill opened his present that had been sent from geocaching headquarters.  

Inside, were some new cache containers, and a couple of pieces of memorabilia signifying geocaching's 20th anniversary.  

I can say that Bill will wear his new cap proudly. 

Later, when it was past time for Bill to come home from church, he finally pulled into the driveway and Annie went outside. 

Then, she came back, saying, "Mom, Dad needs some help outside."

Yup, he needed help unloading a new blue and white kayak from the pickup.  

"This is your birthday present from all of us," he said. 

"But it's Father's Day," I said.  Plus, my birthday is days off. 

Apparently a lot of finagling had gone on the past couple of weeks with Bill and Annie and Willie and Debbie selecting and making arrangements for purchasing and picking up this kayak.

And, since the Father's Day plan included the guys going with Dan to the lake for fishing and for the gals to go kayaking with Dan's wife and Debbie's dear friend Tammy, the kayak arrived a few days early. 

And, so we loaded up Annie's and my new boat into the pickup and headed to Pack River General Store to pick up food and beverage supplies for our paddling adventure. 

Bill followed and stayed around to help us launch.  Then, he took pictures, and off we went.  He would be meeting Willie later in the afternoon to meet Dan.

We had been paddling just a short time when we suddenly had Ann overboard.  She had pointed her boat right into the rapids and the rapids reciprocated by dumping her in the river, along with THE BEER. 

After making sure Annie was okay, Debbie got to the problem at hand----retrieving the six-pack just purchased at the store. 

She succeeded, and when we rounded another bend or two and beached for a quick moment or two, someone said it was time for a beer.  

What we didn't know was that Bill was waiting with his cell phone on the next bend down the river.  He stood wondering if he'd missed us.  

Waves and picture taking ensued, and then that was the last we saw of Bill. 

The only other mishap for us wasn't really a mishap; twas just the inordinate amount of mosquitoes when someone beached again headed for the BIF. 

Mosquito swarms were quite successful in putting that idea off for a while. 

We paddled on and on and on, under the HWY 200 bridge and off into the delta. Finally, Tammy pointed way off in the distance and told us that little spot (a pickup) was our destination. 

By this time, the guys had launched and headed off for the Green Monarchs. 

Bill told me this morning he was pretty much expecting a nice boat trip and nothing else. 

Well, that changed as the early evening wore on. 

We had reached our destination, loaded up kayaks and were headed home when a text message flashed on to my 1-percent battery charged phone flashed on. 

"I caught a 12-pound Kamloops," Bill announced.

Then, came a photo which I couldn't load because of virtually no phone battery.

Later, with a little charge, the fish showed up on the screen.  

And, even later, came another message:  Willie caught a 12-pound Kamloops, 30 inches long, Bill stated. 

We learned later that a third fish was caught and released.  Willie had noted that such a fish caught in the Moyie River would have been really something-----but yesterday, kind of an after thought. 

All three fish were caught and released but the two big boys had to behave long enough for the photo op before returning to the lake. 

And, so there's a good fish tale with the photos to prove that they didn't get away AND they were big. 

There's no other way to articulate the beautiful June Father's Day than to say a truly good time was had by all. 

Another day in the year 2020 where things just didn't go like the usual, but this time, nobody seemed to mind.

Thanks, Dan, for making Bill's Father's Day a banner day that he'll never forget. 

And, thanks, Love family, for the beautiful kayak. 

Note:  some of those photos taken during yesterday's adventures have not arrived in time to post.  Seems Bill and my phones just don't want to talk to each other this morning. 

If they come, I'll post 'em later. 

Happy Monday to all.