Accomplishing A Bucket List Item For Two

Three years ago a friend and I were recovering from doing a 21 mile paddle board event the day prior, savoring in the joys of accomplishing a goal and now wondering what was next.

"If we could paddle the distance of Lake Austin, how about we paddle the distance of Lake Travis next?" In a mere nano-second later, we were both "in", already conniving how we should do it the following summer. Before the sun set that day, we not only had a new bucket list item, but we had already shared with our significant others our excitement, much to their dismay. (Of course, anyone that knows me also knows that my "what if's" more often than not include a luring of my poor husband to the ends of the earth on multi-mile endurance expeditions! Needless to say he was not so thrilled, as he automatically knew it was in his future!)

Less than a year after that item went on the bucket list, Kristin, my friend that shared the same dream, was killed. We had already been training and planning for a 5 day paddle board event in the Netherlands when she had her accident and I immediately knew that I absolutely could not - and did not want to - take it on without her. However, the idea of paddling Lake Travis has lingered and beckoned for some time.

Tomorrow twelve of us set off in an attempt to fulfill the dream of paddling the distance of Lake Travis. As a native Austinite, the Highland Lakes have always been a special place to me, and by spending 3 days, 2 nights and 60 miles paddling the largest lake of them, I feel like it's the best way to connect and be part of this magnificent waterway even better.

Tomorrow we embark on 60 miles of achieving dreams and goals - a bucket list to not only go dam to dam on this amazing lake, but also be the first group of paddle boarders to achieve it. We plan to paddle approximately 25 miles Friday, 20-25 Saturday, then finish the final distance at 4pm Sunday at Emerald Point Marina @ Ernie's on the Lake.

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