Kayaking...

We've been hitting the lakes around town again this summer - well, Andy and Adam have been hitting the lakes and Harper and I have been walking around them. :)

Adam has learned how to paddle and it's pretty adorable hearing him chant "Left, Right, Left, Right" as they paddle along.

Adventures in Kayaking...

We had a great time using the kayaks this summer. We are lucky to have so many places nearby where we can take them out. One of our favorite trips was down the Potomac River. We launched from Algonkian Park and brought along a picnic which we enjoyed as we floated down the river. Beautiful views and practically in our backyard. 

Speaking of our backyard, about a mile up the road is Lake Newport which isn't all that large, but it makes for a fun afternoon excursion. 

We had to put the kayaks away for the winter, but we'll look forward to breaking them out in the spring when the weather warms up. 

Andy's Epic Kayak Adventure...

I could have lumped this in with the beach week post, but felt it deserved its own spotlight. Andy spent a lot of time kayaking during our trip. I ventured out once, but the talk of excessive amounts of jelly fish in the water kept me on dry land most of the time. Andy had no fear and even kayaked from Ocean Lakes down to Surfside Beach where my parent's house was. It took him about an hour (maybe more) and he even had to paddle out and around the pier which put him a little farther out in the ocean than I  liked, but in true Andy fashion, he pulled it off with no issue...well, except for when he wiped out during what would have been his "victory lap." ;) 

Kayaks...

We had so much fun kayaking at the beach that we did some research and used Andy's Deloitte healthy living yearly stipend to purchase our own set to take home from the Outer Banks. Score! 

We have a lot of lakes in Reston and also plenty of opportunities to use them on our various camping trips (Lake Anna we miss you!) so this seemed like the perfect time and way to become boaters once again. 

We've already had quite a few evening rides and it's been fun being back on the water waving at other boaters (we are just a nice breed aren't we?) ;) 

Bonus - Adam LOVES it, so we'll keep giving him free rides for now, but we'll look forward to him helping to paddle soon enough!