Kayaking at Lodi Lake
Posted on August 11, 2018 Posted by Athena Scalzi 17 Comments
Hello, everyone! I hope y’all’s weekend has been awesome so far! My week has been pretty uneventful, but today I actually did something fun and exciting! I got to go kayaking at Lodi Lake with my Cali family.
I’ve only been kayaking a couple of times before, and each time my arms get insanely sore, but I always have a great time! I’ve never not had fun kayaking, it’s so great. It’s very rare that I enjoy physical activity of any sort, but it makes sense that I like kayaking so much because of my love of water.
Lodi Lake is insanely pretty. I thought it was just a little lake at first, but it actually goes on for a really long time, more like a river, really. There were wild raspberries growing along the side, tons of trees and tall grass galore, and we passed several beautiful Lodi homes that were probably millions of dollars. The water is actually much colder than I would’ve guessed, but that didn’t stop us from swimming around! We also passed people on paddle-boards, boats, jet-skis, all sorts of modes of transportation, and literally every single person waved or said hello, it was crazy how friendly everyone was out there!
I also got to see a few adorable water pups, including a German Shepard (one of my favorite kinds of dogs!), so that was super awesome, too.
After kayaking, I went to Habit Burger, per recommendation of some commenters on my In-N-Out post, and I have to say, it’s good, but it’s no In-N-Out. Although, their tempura green beans were delicious!
My arms feel fine as of right now, but I doubt I’ll be able to say the same tomorrow morning. Hopefully you all have an awesome rest of the weekend, I certainly intend to!
Oh, nice! I miss being able to do things like that. Whitewater canoeing/kayaking is also great (if done sanely; there are levels of rapids that can too easily be fatal. Also, at least in the icy rivers of the northwest, ffs wear a wetsuit.)
*ahem* Those of us who live here prefer “California”. Cali is a city in Colombia.
:)
I had an opportunity a few weeks ago to kayak in Bear Lake in Seward Alaska and I passed because I was being eaten alive by mosquitos. I regret it deeply.
The younguns i work with, about 30 miles north of Lodi, use Cali. As long as the t in Sacramento is silent, we’re good.
Peggy: I lived in Davis for 10 years and an hour north-east of Sacramento for 18 years since then and never realized that I don’t pronounce the t in Sacramento until I read your comment. But I still don’t say “Cali”. Or “Frisco” (where I was born).
As a usage, “Cali” must be very new. It confused me, and I live here too. I did wonder if Athena were in Colombia, or knew a family from there.
I once went kayaking down the American River, east of Sacramento: a bit rushy, though no actual rapids. That was fun, but it was a long time ago, when even Athena’s dad was a little squint.
First of all, welcome to our little area! Many people also enjoy rafting or kayaking from the Fish hatchery in Clements on the Mukelome (no clue if I spelled it right lol).
Secondly, ignore the haters on the word CALI. I use it all the time and was born here way too many moons ago. It’s funny how language works, just because you or your core group doesn’t use a bit of slang, doesn’t mean it does not exist for another group in the area.
My son and I tried Habit for the first time Friday. Meh. The food was ok, but I resented the price of the burgers. Lots of places serve really good burgers, even at higher prices, where I don’t resent it so it’s not just the money.
Hope you have a blast!
Wyn
Glad to hear of a young person doing something physical in the out-of-doors instead of alla that Pac-Man and tweetering on the interwebs!
Sounds much like the lake (really reservoir) near where we live. They have kayaks, canoes, and rowboats for rent, and also a guided-tour pontoon boat (we do one of the last two; haven’t tried the kayaks yet). They however do not allow any noisy/smelly gasoline-powered watercraft — it’s paddle-power or very low-power electric motors (for small fishing boats) only. And no swimming. It’s way too dangerous, because this reservoir is young enough that there are still lots of standing snags with limbs just below the water surface, and also plenty of fishing lines (with hooks) that dunderheaded fisherman have gotten caught in those snags and just cut the line, collectively leaving a spiderweb-like death-trap network of lines below the water surface. According to the local naturalists, it really takes a toll on waterbirds that get caught in it (especially birds like mergansers and grebes that dive below the surface to feed). But some wildlife manages to thrive there; we often see beaver (just the head above surface as they swim along), muskrat, osprey, different kinds of turtles (including humongous snappers), green and great blue heron, etc. Occasionally we see a bald eagle, and this year there is a nesting pair of eagles in a tree by the shore.
Oh, lord… Stuck in Lake Lodi again…
The truly California laid-back response is to think that the term ‘Cali’ is somewhat kooky but perfectly OK if it (sorry!) floats your boat. (Just don’t call it Frisco, as the late Herb Caen said.)
Kayaking is just barrels of fun. Some of the Heap Big Fun of my youth back in the Mesozoic was kayaking down a portion of the Wye River between England and Wales, accompanied by many jokes about the Bridge on the River Wye (even though we weren’t Goon Show fans at that age). Also a really good place for kayaking: Drake’s Bay, Point Reyes, California.
In any such situation, take care to be kayaking in company of at least one other kayak, because your life could depend on someone else floating your boat.
When I was in southern California with my family 7 months ago, we enjoyed our first-ever visits to both In-N-Out (in Santa Maria) and Habit Burger (in San Luis Obispo) – but only the latter has restaurants here in the Maryland suburbs of DC. Haven’t gone to the closest one yet, about 6 miles away, but I know I’ll like it better than Five Guys (which originated in this area but doesn’t attract me more than once every few years, and has gotten pricey as well).
Kayaks, unlike canoes, always seem to have the seats at an angle that my back can’t handle. (Also, in rough water, it is much easier to handle a kayak from on top than when swimming next to it :-)
In-n-Out Burger was closed when we came back from our meteor-watching attempts Saturday night; tonight was too cloudy to bother trying. The Perseids are usually reliable, but the valley here was too cloudy, and we had to drive up the mountains to see stars at all, and only saw half a dozen good meteors.
I never understood kayaks. I dont like a boat that swallows your legs like a python, and then flips you over and holds you under water. Strange design.
As for ‘cali’ :
https://youtu.be/FdizL4on-Rc
Prop to West of the Rockies–you beat me to the reference.
Hiya “gottacook!” — I also hail from the Maryland suburbs of D.C. We (me & the fam) go to Five Guys as often as the current state of our diet/waistline allows (which is about once a month). Yes they have gotten pricey when compared to other fast food places, but we consider them more toward the gourmet side of the scale and consider it worth it. Habit Burger is news to me…I see on Google maps one has moved in on Rockville Pike; will have to give it a try.