Monday, Aug. 04, 2008

Don't you hate it when vacations end?

Yay for the best vacation ever!

After sun-burning my back at the hydro races, I headed off to take a long-awaited vacation with my boyfriend. There, I proceeded to sunburn my back even more.

Every year my family goes on this camping trip. Except we don't camp - we stay in a cabin with electricity and running water. So I call it a "fishing trip."

Mr. Big took his first vacation since he could remember. He was a giddy little boy, excited to fish out of a boat for the first time. Believe me, I documented this with my camera, much to his chagrin.

Mr. Big and I actually camped out in a tent, complete with fire pit. My brother graced us with his presence while we were up there, so we had a big bonfire on his last night. It was really fun sitting around a self-made campfire with my boyfriend wandering the woods for dry firewood (and coming back with large tree stumps), and my brother spraying lighter fluid on the fire to keep it going while drinking beer.

We did plenty of fishing while up there - mostly for small-mouth bass. I love fishing. I must say that I'm pretty good at it, too. I can't tie my own line, but I can hook my own bait and from there, I can hold my own against most fishermen.

My favorite moment was fishing off the dock. It's been ages since I've caught a trout off the dock up there. There used to be old wooden docks that sunk into the water as you stepped on them. They grew plenty of yummy moss that the trout loved to grub on. More than 10 years ago, those docks were replaced with fancy new ones with aluminum underneath, so not only were you higher off the water, they didn't allow moss and plankton to grow, therefore not very many trouts lingered around the docks anymore.

Mr. Big had been desperately trying to catch a trout off the dock, just to prove that it can still be done. This time, him and my brother went fishing off the dock with plastic worms instead, opting for bass.

After about ten minutes of fishing, I grabbed Mr. Big's reel and cast it. I let the jig slowly sink, then began reeling it in. There was a little tug.

My brother looked at me, making me think we had crossed lines. I reeled in some more and there was another tug. It wasn't my brother.

I hooked the fish and began pulling it in.

"You caught a fish?!" they both asked.

I assured them it was probably small since the fish gave little fight. But as the fish surfaced, we clearly saw that it was not a bass and it was not that small.

On my first try on a plastic worm, I had caught a large brownie trout. I posed with it triumphantly, as my Mr. Big and my brother anxiously fished the same area.

Sure, it was a complete fluke and the trout was probably just trying to catch a late dinner - but it was really funny to see the look on everyone's faces.

We ended up catching plenty of fish during our vacation, most of which my grandma deep fried into delicious fish strips. My mouth waters just thinking about it.

We took at least ten fish home to give to Mr. Big's parents. They'll probably make some strange-smelling soup out of them that has miraculous health benefits and could cure cancer.

I think I've gained about 10 pounds on top of the 20 I've gained over the past six months, so I'm slowly easing my way back into an exercise regimen. I also bought these awesome couches, so I'll be living off turkey sandwiches for the next couple of months until I can pay them off, which can't be good. Mmm, Wonder Bread... Maybe Mr. Big's mom will give me some of her fish soup...