So we took our trailer out to Alcona Park. It's a beautiful county campground in Glennie. And I discovered that I like to camp, a lot. The park is on the Alcona pond which is fed from the AuSable River.
We have enjoyed some beautiful wild life.
In fact we love it so much, we decided that we would just leave the camper there. It is about a half hour from home. It's kind of like having a cabin without having the upkeep and taxes.
Matt loves to fish as much as he loves to camp, and since I was trying out this camping thing, I decided that I should try the fishing thing too. So, we went out in our little fishing boat one evening, and Matt taught me how to cast using spinner bait. The water was calm and the sun was starting to set. It was just him and me in the little boat, shooting the breeze as he cast like a pro, and I cast like I had never done it before. And then, I felt a tug on my line! Low and behold, I had caught a fish!
It was just a little Bass, and we threw him back, but I was thrilled. It was like being at a slot machine and it starts dinging. You feel the tug at your line as you are reeling it in. Then there is the moment that you realize that it is a fish and not a big old weed. Of course I started screaming "what do I do now?" as my calm, experienced husband told me to keep him in the water as he scooped the little guy up in a net. We took pictures of my first catch and then threw him back.
After that I loved to fish. I find something very relaxing in the repetitiveness. And you never know what that next cast is going to bring. Just when I am sure I am on the verge of catching the biggest fish in the lake, Matt decides to move the boat. I have to stop fishing, hold on to my pole, as he navigates the boat into the next, perfect, not too shallow, not too weedy spot. I sit, waiting impatiently, to cast out my lure again. There were a few that got away because I had not learned to properly set the hook when I got a bite. But again, with Matt as the patient teacher, I learned to do that too and Tuesday night my efforts to become a better fisher person were rewarded with a pretty good sized Pike.
I still have no desire to keep them, or eat them, for that matter. I just like to catch them. I love to be on the water. I love spending time with my best friend. And I love that we love the same things and can enjoy them together. I love that we live in a place where people come on vacation and wished they lived here. And I love all the beautiful things I have seen just by being on the water on a peaceful summer evening.
Fishing has helped me come to terms with moving away from my life in Kalamazoo, and realize how much beauty surrounds me here, "Up North". Thanks Matt, for opening my eyes to all of this. But please don't think that this means that I have any plans to take up hunting.
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