KINCAID LAKE - FINDING THE BEACH - FRIDAY

FRIDAY

Slept till 10:00. Had coffee. Fed the dog. Walked to the pay station to deliver my envelope in order to pay for 3 more days. Met up with the camp hosts and asked where the day use area was. She explained that I could get to the beach in just a short walk to the right from our campground.

"There’s a beach?"

"Yes, it’s closed but you can climb over the gate and get there."

"WOW! I didn’t know that there was a beach here."

I spoke to her about our long hike yesterday and she said that I was only a few miles from the beach when I got off the hiking trail.

"That’s OK. I couldn’t go any more. I’m not really a hiker."

So Xi Shi and I again took off for what we thought would be a short walk to the beach. No food, no water, nothing we "should" be carrying for a hike.

We were enjoying the walk as it was on a paved road and not a muddy trail. We crossed over the closed gate and noticed the sign read, "Closed till April." How lucky for us that we had permission to walk through this area. Walked a good ways and finally got to a parking lot and could see the lake. There were lots of picnic tables and Bar-B-Q pits. The closer we got the more excited I got. Then there it was.

There was a sandy beach and it was sectioned off for swimming. There were two boat docks and several covered pavilions. I couldn’t wait to get down the steps to the sand and water. Xi had no idea what she was about to experience. She just walked along with me as usual, slowly, taking it all in.

When she first laid eyes on the water and sand she just stood there looking. Didn’t do anything. It was like she was thinking. "Is this real?" Then she began walking very slowly but with intent. She walked right into the water without hesitation and kept walking. I had to pull on her leash to stop her. She looked at me with those eyes that question, "Well, are you coming in?"

So I took my walking shoes off and socks and went in with her. The water was so cool it felt great. We played around for awhile and she then started to relax.

She ran out of the water onto the sand and started to do her happy dance. She ran in circles and jumped back into the water and ran some more. It was so much fun to see her happy like that. I tried to snap a few shots but she was all over the place so it was hard to capture the moment. What a great feeling it gave to me to be able to do something to make her so happy.

Speedboat in the background.

After taking a break and letting Xi Shi dry off a bit we walked up the hill and followed the path to the edge of the cliff and looked down at the water.

 Across the lake were houses and boat launches. Even the zoomed in photos didn’t catch the beauty as it was so far away.

We saw people in boats fishing along the banks. Walked back down to the beach and played some more. That’s when I saw the sign, "No pets on beach." Oh well... I guess this will be our only time here.

There was also a sign that read, "To Campground" and "Kincaid Loop Trail - Wild Azalia 7 miles" but there was no way I was going to do that again.

 Then we headed back to our campsite.

We both took a nap and later sat outside for awhile while I read some more of my book. Had fish for supper. Nothing I caught... frozen from home.

I can’t find my fishing rod. I thought it was in the basement but I have looked and don’t see it. So now I have a fishing license, tackle box with everything I need, but no pole. Crap!

Had a great day.