Summer 2017 adventure #2- fishing

Can't you just hear the Andy Griffith Show music

We took a family trip to the Duren Hotel cabin to initiate Lil into the "fun" of fishing.  It's about a 3 hr drive and I hadn't seen the cabin before, only having stayed in the actual hotel.  It's pretty and set far enough away from the hotel, that we seemed to be there by ourselves.


 The only time we saw "other folks" around was when they drove in and parked and when, while we were walking to the Pike dock, they waved from the back porch.
N and I went to pick up the jon boat he keeps near there and we fed the stray kitties who live in the vicinity of the pond where the boat is kept.
As we waited for the Thompsons to arrive, I explored the cabin (has 4 bedrooms- 3 upstairs)

 and read and had  an interesting lunch of strawberries and "hot" fritos.  Very healthy.
My one "cooking" project for this trip was to make homemade ice cream, so I had brought the freezer, ice, salt, and the already mixed "cream" mixture (made at home before we left).  It usually takes 45-55 min for the churning to take place and then 1 1/2 to 2 hours ripening time.

I put the freezer outside in the shade to ripen, with a towel over it to hold in the cold.

While I was doing these things, N was walking the shoreline, looking for fish- didn't find any.



After they arrived, Lil needed to explore the cabin and the area around it.  This place is perfect for kids (except for the large number of stickers) with all kind of places to play

The Pike Dock is one my father-in-law, Lonnie Pike built in this pond with the owner's permission.  Lonnie built a house just down the road and lived there  for most of his retirement.  The dock is under a tree and, since the pond is low now it is a little above the water.  The 3 fisherfolk set up on the dock and proceeded to catch teeny perch.  Lil was thrilled and excited.

Her final count of the day was 17 teeny fish, grandpa's was 9 and I'm not sure B counted the ones he caught.  They had fun and convinced Lil to "catch and release", so the little fish could grow bigger for the next time we came.  If she'd caught a really big fish, I think it would have scared her-- her teeny fish were the perfect size for her.




We had barbecue and side dishes for supper and HOMEMADE ICE CREAM and eeverything was wonderful.

Fishing folk went back for a second try and did okay, but not as well as earlier.  While they fished Nki and I hiked back and forth from the cabin to the dock, and back to the other end of the property.  It is not straight smooth trails, but up rocks, and embankments and of course through goathead stickers which stuck to pants and socks.

We settled in for the night, got some sleep and probably the most contented I felt the entire trip, was getting up before everyone the next morning, having my cup of tea on the porch and reading a good book.

My view from the porch early in the morning.

My Thompsons had an appointment to go see the Lake Leon Thompsons for lunch, so we had breadfast, cleaned the cabin, stripped the beds, loaded the dishwasher, etc. and got away by 9;30 or so.

Lil loved her fishing excursion and we'll probably do it again before the year is out.