Dave and I are in Yakima, Washington visiting my family. We’re staying with my brother and sister-in-law and having fun with my nephews and niece.

Saturday we built up the boat on the lawn out back, and Mason (in front) and Kurtis (behind) tested it out to make sure everything fit right.

Yesterday we took the boat up to Bumping Lake, about an hour from Yakima, to check out the boat and get some paddling in. Dave and I had a nice paddle on our own to loosen up.

Then we swam out in our dry suits so I could get a fell for what 49 degree water is like when you’re fully protected. It was cool, but not cold, and my confidence was boosted.

Then Dave and I swamped the boat a couple of times, turned it back over and got ourselves in. We don’t have pictures of that, but it worked well. Then Dave took out my nephews and niece for a paddle across the lake. They each did a great job paddling and had a lot of fun out there. Mason went first, then Kurtis and Makayla.

We’ve got another day of visiting here, and then we head to Seattle on Wednesday to meet up with Kris and Leslie. We get on the ferry to Sitka on Friday morning!