Exciting Times!

I had to opportunity to reconnect this past weekend with two former youth group members from the last youth group I pastored some 21 years ago. I hadn't seen them in all that time so it was especially fun and interesting to reconnect again. How did we reconnect? Facebook, how else?

Well, the opportunity came in the form of an invite to join them (they are brothers) in their last fishing expedition for the year. Now, it is cold in October, especially in the morning and especially on the river in the morning. The bite is slower but the prospects of larger fish (we were hunting for rainbow trout) are generally better. So, given the opportunity I thought it would be a great way to see my friends while doing something we all enjoyed.

What a fabulous Alaska day it was! We saw moose, eagles, a spotted seal (yes, in the Kenai River), bears and some extradinary rainbow trout. The temperature never really warmed up above 40 degrees and it was lower most of the day. All in all, it was a great day of reconnecting and seeing the outdoor things we all enjoy seeing.

At the end of the day, we were hoping to see some brown bears we had seen earlier but had run off when the sound of our motor was heard. So, we shut off the motor to float by more silently and take some pictures. This worked well and we were able to see the bears and take a picture or two. The only problem was, we ran aground on a sand bar since we were not under power. I was the only one with boots on so I jumped over the side and began pushing the boat into deeper water. When it was floating again and time for me to jump back on, I don't know how to say this...I missed. Yes, I missed the boat. You hear a lot about missing the boat and I actually did. It was a combination of being very cold all day and not being able to move well, and general clumbsyness I guess. So, I fell into the water was soaked to the waist in about 30 degree temps.

Yes, it was cold. Fortunately the trip to their cabin did not take long and they even had a working dryer there. While I thawed out at the wood stove, my jeans were drying in the dryer. How nice was that? Well, that ended a memorable day, everyone seemed to have had a great time, some of it at my expense. But who could blame them?