Trout Fishing with Bestefar

Last weekend, Eric's folks were kind enough to (once again) open their doors to our crew for the weekend. The reason for this particular trip was so Eric's dad (aka Bestefar) could take the kids fishing on a lake near their house. He even bought little row boat for the occasion. (Someone needs to get ready to polish his "Grandfather of the Year - 2017" award!!)

Conor posing on the Tilacum

Ferry selfie

Due to Annika's crazy schedule on Saturday (she had 3 places to be at the same time that morning... HELLO!), Conor and I went up to the island early morning while Eric and Annika went to Microsoft for a robotics event her team attended; later, they took a Lyft car to Mukilteo, walked on the next ferry, and Eric's dad picked them up at the Whidbey ferry terminal. Nice!

While Eric and Annika were in Redmond, Eric's dad took Conor out on the lake to try their hands (rods?) at catching trout. We've gone fishing (for salmon) in the Sound for the past few years in Bestefar's outboard boat, but have yet to actually catch any salmon. I was nervous about how successful the kids would be fishing for trout .... boy, was I a fool!! Conor caught two trout and had a few more that got away. Bestefar and Conor had a blast out on the water together; I think they were on the lake for about 2 hours when a speedboat put an end to their fishing excursion.

Conor sporting his fishing rod

The dogs kept putting their ball in the boat so Conor could throw it for them

Bestefar and Conor ... all ready to go!

Rowing, rowing, just keep rowing

Fish on!!

Conor and his trout buddies

Almost as soon as the guys were back at the house, were their haul in the pan and quickly becoming lunch for us! Much to Bestefar's shock, Conor most liked trout with a little mustard to dip it in. (The rest of us opted for plain!) Bestemor quickly pointed out that with our kids now knowing how to catch trout, I'd better learn how to prepare it.... so true!!! (I've been researching trout recipes ever since.)

Between fishing outings, Bestefar went into town for more fishing lures and to pick up Eric and Annika at the ferry. While he was shopping for lures, Eric's dad very sweetly looked for a lure he thought Annika would like... he found a pink one with glitter on it. Shazam!!

By early afternoon, our robotics duo had arrived and it was Annika's turn to go out on the boat. She had barely dropped her bag in the house before she and Bestefar were lakeward bound! Again, I feared she wouldn't catch anything (those elusive salmon have scarred me, apparently) and knowing Conor caught two fish earlier in the day, I was even more nervous. Again, FOOL!! Annika wound up catching three trout!! (The lesson? Never doubt Norwegians determined to catch fish while using a glittery lure!) Annika and Bestefar spent a good three hours on the lake and she would have stayed longer had it been earlier in the day AND had Bestefar not spent the better part of five hours rowing around the lake! (I'm fairly certain his arms felt like wet noodle by the time he was done!)

What a fun (and trout)-filled day!!

The rest of the weekend was filled with playing card and dice games (I'm still working on my Hearts strategy, but seem to be improving with practice and help from Eric and his mom), reading, knitting (Bestemor and me! I was very focused on getting the socks I've been knitting done before my upcoming carpal tunnel release surgery!), and watching the UW football game (Go Dawgs!).

We are incredibly glad the kids had this opportunity to go fishing this weekend! What cherished memories they are creating ... and they're bringing home food. BONUS!!!