I’ve been in and around water my whole life. Growing up, my parents had a 26-foot cabin cruiser that we spent most vacations on, cruising from island to island. My love & respect for the water began there. Competitive swimming naturally followed. I spent years swimming back and forth, back and forth, & I don’t regret a single lap. I went on to swim varsity in university, which lead to coaching & teaching swimming lessons when I retired. I just couldn’t stay away from the water!
& I’m the first to admit that most water-related activities come much easier to me than those on land – I aced my scuba diving tests, for example, even though everyone made fun of me for falling asleep in the classroom portion. Stick me on a wakeboard & I’ll impress you far more than I ever could with its snowier counterpart. Frankly, I’m awkward on land, & anyone who knows me well will undoubtedly agree. At any given moment, I can point out at least one bruise from this awkwardness. (Maybe this comes as a surprise after all those super graceful gymnastics photos of me. The real gymnasts are very entertained by my attempts.)
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve spent less & less time in the water. I’m certainly not as excited at the prospect of spending multiple hours working out in a pool anymore. & while I do love a good swim workout from time to time, I prefer to get my water fix at the lake or in the ocean.
My parents spent a few years looking for property on a lake before they settled on Columbia Lake, in the East Kootenay. They built a beautiful house &, almost a decade later, it has become one of my favourite places to get away to. Its proximity to Calgary is a huge draw. A three hour drive away, it’s an easy weekend trip. It’s quiet, relaxing, & absolutely gorgeous. There are restrictions on mooring, so it’s a lot quieter than its very popular sister, Lake Windermere (Something I’m always grateful for as a wakeboarder. Give me calm water & space!).
I usually only pop out for a long weekend, here & there, but last summer we stopped out there for a few extra days, hoping to log some hours on the boat as the season drew to a close.
Unfortunately, the fires put a bit of a damper on those plans. Visibility was fine by the time we got out there, but the smoke kept the temperatures low. It seemed the sun just couldn’t break through. Nonetheless, I thought these photos were beautiful in their own way. You can’t see either of the mountain ranges very clearly, & it’s not the crystal clear water & blue skies that come to mind when I think of summertime out there, but it’s still beautiful.
![Lake](https://i0.wp.com/whoalansi.dreamhosters.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Lake-.jpg?resize=629%2C420)
The always gorgeous view of Columbia Lake
I wound up sick while we were on this trip, so I didn’t take a lot of photos. As I was sorting through the ones for my anniversary post, I came across these & thought they were pretty in a different kind of way & figured I might as well share. I’m getting excited for summer & more time out at the lake. One of favourite things to do is grab coffee out on the lakehouse’s front deck. Sometimes those simple little things become my favourites.
![Spent the weekend taking lots of patio naps.](https://i0.wp.com/whoalansi.dreamhosters.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/20150828_190438.jpg?resize=360%2C640)
Spent the weekend taking lots of patio naps.
Do you have a special place like this? What’s your favourite thing to do in the warmer months?