Author’s Note: This journal entry was written after the trip and has been postdated!

We had another very early start in order to fit kayaking into mine and Alex’s short visit and I’m really glad we were able to do it! Back in Florida I used to kayak quite a bit and I’ve always really enjoyed it. The weather was sunny and slightly breezy when we set out on the lake and although Alex’s aunt Janice was initially super scared of kayaking, she ended up having a wonderful time!

I would have liked to have taken more pictures while we were on the water but I was a little worried about getting my camera or phone wet. Luckily I managed to snap a few pictures, though I did miss getting some great up close photos of a swan! We paddled around for two hours and when we turned around to head back the wind had picked up quite a bit which made it more challenging and tiring for all of us.

We finished kayaking and went back to the house to hop in the wood fired hot tub. The hot tub was in a beautiful location, too. It was positioned just next to the little stream and had lovely views of the forest and the fields of sheep. We soaked for a while and then went back to our room in the cottage to wash up. I was going to participate in the off road driving with everyone but I was feeling a little overexerted so I ended up just posting up on the sofa and having a nap with the TV on.

For dinner we had mexican food and margaritas, then Alex and I did a bit of karaoke and managed to get his mom to join us! I was a little bummed that nobody else joined in even though we were in there for two hours. Alex and I finished doing karaoke and then went to sit outside for a bit to just chill. While we were outside we saw so many bats swerving through the air!! Bats are just so cool. It was great to see them showing off!

Once the bats were done doing tricks we went back inside to socialise with everyone. We ended up getting very drunk and staying up until three in the morning playing card games with Alex’s Scottish cousins! It was a lot of fun and I’m glad we got to spend time with them because it’s very rare that we all get to be in the same place at the same time.