Wednesday, December 2, 2009


02 December 2009
The Best Vacation
Anyone who works for a living will agree that vacations are a way to escape from their reality, even if only for a little while. I will go out of town just for the weekend to escape the hustle of the daily grind; however, it is not until I get the chance to go to my favorite spot to vacation that I truly get the chance to unwind. Lake Gaston provides me a chance to get back in touch with my family and the opportunity to truly relax.
Heading to Lake Gaston is always a fun task within itself. It takes a few hours to pack the trucks and get all the family members in the vehicles, but once we are underway it is a great ride. Everyone in my family lives such different lives: some of us are students that work full time, while others are parents for the first time, or working and counting down until retirement. It is sad to say that when we are back home we are busy and really do not have enough time to keep up with each other. So, this car trip usually starts out with us catching up. Everyone tells the others what has been going on, how happy they are or unsatisfied with this and that. After a few pit stops and a screaming baby or two we have finally arrived at Lake Gaston.
The rest of the family is unpacking the vehicles and settling into the house while it is my job to launch the boat. This is my favorite part of the vacation because now I know that I am truly on vacation. Once the boat is in the water its time to let the wake boarding begin. For the most part, every person in my family will attempt to wake board; whether or not they get up does not really matter. We all will laugh when someone wipes out and even try to get a picture of the crash so we can Facebook it. After several hours of riding, or a pulled muscle or two which ever comes first, I will turn off the engine, grab a beer, and jump in the water. There we all will float for hours on end. While we are in the water, we are telling more stories and getting the chance to get to know one another again. All the conversations we have will end in laughter some how.
Once we all are done with the water sports and floating in the river it is time to come back to the house and prepare dinner. This is where my aunts like to show off since both of them are amazing cooks. It makes it easier for me if they do the cooking since it gives my dad and me a chance to go back to the water and attempt to catch the ever elusive record breaking catfish. Fishing with my dad is my favorite part of the trip. Even though we never get the ‘big fish’, it does not really matter since I get some time to spend with my dad. Once the fishing is over with, we go back to the house were a feast has been prepared. The food is beyond mouth watering. All of us are around the table telling stories from the day and laughing, and then someone breaks out the alcohol and friends from across the lake come over. There is a house party that would make most college kids jealous. Everyone in my family, from the ages of 21 to 65, you have beer pong, corn hole and flip cup games going on. There was even a beer bong that made it out there last year. Finally, when the party winds down it is time to go to bed just to get up and do it all over again.
For many people going to exotic places is their idea of a great vacation. My idea of a great get away is about two hours away from Norfolk on the boarder of Virginia and North Carolina. Peaceful evenings and family time make this destination the perfect place to get away from it all.

If you would like to learn more about Lake Gaston please go to this site:
www.lakegaston.com
This picture was taken from this website:
www.extremesportscafe.com/wakeboarding.html
Want to learn the best way to fish for catfish:
www.justcatfishing.com

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