I spent four and a half hours paddling around Lake Grapevine today. I found some free parking in the park in the Southwest corner of the lake. A hundred feet or so of a haul to the water and the kayak was under way.
There are some gargantuan fish in that lake and they were making themselves known to everyone. I was worried one of them was going to land in my boat and swamp it. If I had my fishing gear and had planned on camping, I could have eaten for days from one fish.
Speaking of being swamped, many of the ski-boats were still in use despite school having started. This allowed me ample opportunity to ride some of their wakes and I missed maneuvering to face a large one. It got me pretty well. As a result, I have added a bilge pump to the top of my list of things-to-get for my upcoming trip.
My new Sea-to-Summit dry bag seemed to work pretty well. I opened the bag twice while on the water and everything was nice and dry. When I got home, I opened it again and there was a little moisture on a towel I had in the bag but I don't know if it happened as a result of that kayak being swamped by that big, rogue wake (in which case I expect the bag to keep it dry as it was sealed at the time) or if it happened during one of the occasions I had the bag opened to get a snack and just didn't notice. I'll have to do a little more testing on future excursions.
I stopped a few times on sand bars and beaches to stretch my legs, get water from the rear storage compartment and re-apply sunscreen. I managed to get a few pics of the beach on my phone and will try to post them later.
It really felt good to be on the water and get some fresh air, sunshine and exercise. I was actually feeling a bit fatigued and stopped at a convenience store on the way home to pick up a chocolate Muscle Milk drink. That helped quite a bit. A couple turkey burgers and a bowl of my seasoned black beans and I am feeling much better.
All in all, a very good day.