Man, I hope we see something like this on our safari in a few weeks! Incredible! Be sure to watch until the end for a surprise!

Would you believe that it's snowing in Austin right now? (Austin people don't answer that question.) After being stuck inside for pretty much the past 48 hours, we finally get some of the white stuff which is an extreme rarity in these parts of course. I wouldn't say there's much accumulation yet, but there is some. It was really pretty to see some of those big flakes coming down and to watch Bodie try to figure it all out. He wasn't too sure what to think but he did want to play with his frisbee which was so frozen a huge chunk of it just broke off! It's fun working at home with Jan but I'm sure we will be ready to be out in the sunshine again one of these days.

Listening to - Radiohead - The Bends
Reading - Rich Dad, Poor Dad

Well, we ended up braving the cool weather on Sunday night and saw...err...listened to the Rolling Stones while zipping around on our kayaks!  It was me, Jan, and our friend Steve Z out there.  The launch and parking could not have gone smoother.  We got the last two parking spots in the lot!  As we approached the area on the lake we heard the announcer say that the Stones would be coming on in 14 minutes.  Nice timing!  Well, it got a little scary right after that because two police boats showed up and started directing boats to move back away from the Barton Creek inlet, which was behind the stage.  Well, with about 50 other kayaks and a couple of party boats in the area it was really hard to hear exactly what the police were saying.  I was worried they were going to make us leave the entire area.  Just as I had finished formulating my letter to the local paper to complain about this, we quickly realized that they were done pushing us back.  Apparently, they just wanted us back far enough away from where the pyrotechnics were going to occur.  What a relief!  There for a while, I kind of felt like I was on some kayak rebels video game.  I couldn't think of a good name for it, but think Street Skater equivelant.  Kayak or die dude!

Over the next two hours or so we got to hear loud and clear the Stones play a great set!  We couldn't see much but every now and then we caught a peak at the huge screen through some trees.  It was really a cool experience.  As one of the kayakers said, "it was money well spent."  Well said given that tix were around 90 bucks a pop.  The highlight of the night was when we were paddling back to the dock.  We didn't realize it was the last song of the night ("Brown Sugar" for those keeping score), but as we headed back tons of fireworks started going off.  We just turned around and watched with delight as they reflected off of the water.  It was cool to see the sillouhettes of hundreds of birds start flying out of the trees.  It was very surreal. 

So, that was our perspective of the show.  I forgot to mention we nearly froze our butts and hands off.  You know it's cold when you dip your hands in the water and it feels like it's 90 degress.  Anywho, I'm sure others (like my sister) could give you a completely different perspective since they were actually there! 

No, I didn't get tickets but I think Sunday afternoon will be a nice day for a little kayak ride on Town Lake.  Assuming there are no major obstacles then we will be floating around Zilker Park to see if we can hear some classic tunes by the Stones...for free and we will be sitting!  Apprarently there are no chairs allowed in the park for the show.  I'll let you know it goes.

Meanwhile, here is a map of possible launch points (sorry if it's hard to read)

 

I am finally getting to take my kayak on a fishing expedition this Friday when I go to Port Aransas to do some fishing with my dad.  Now, I have not fished since I was a kid so my dad was nice enough to teach me some of the basics ahead of time.  I even have a practice lure (sp?) that I can use in my front yard to practice my casting with.  I'm looking forward to being out there and experiencing some good sunshine and a nice cool breeze from time to time.  Hopefully our time will include some actual catches that I can bring home.  I am hoping that the cool front coming in later this week will make the red fish active. 

I took my new kayak for it's maiden voyage on Monday night with my bro-in-law and dad in Town Lake.  I love it!  It was so peaceful being out there (in the shade for the most part).  We went around Red Bud Island a couple of times so I was able to get a pretty good feel for how it handles.  Now, I just need to find a way to transport this sucker.

Here are some pics of my new "The Ride."  The metal/wood piece sticking out is to mount a trolling motor onto if I wanted to, but I will probably be taking it off.