Lake Martin, Alabama

I hinted last week that I’d come with lots of fun pics from our trip to Alabama, and I stuck to my word. Please forgive me for making this a long post, sometimes it’s hard to restrain myself.

Lake Martin in Alabama is one of our favorite annual trips – there is so much to do, to see, to drink, and to laugh about together as a family. When you marry someone, you marry their family, and I’m so fortunate that I found a group of people who are so incredibly fun-loving and warm-spirited.

It’s trains, planes and automobiles to get to Alabama every year….

….but to fend of the relentless “are we there yet” questions, I just remind the kids that their favorite long-haired cats are waiting for them.

For them, Alabama is about cat love. For me, it’s everything else…

…including getting to nuzzle with my little niece who I only get to see a few times per year.

(and just to clarify, that yoga move back there? I can’t get within 6 inches of touching my toes, that’s my inspiring sister-in-law who managed to pull off a head stand on the board when I wasn’t looking…)

Aside from the cats, the jet skis are a big draw. They’re a novelty for us, and the kids (naturally) get to drive…

But the main event is the wakesurfing. It’s a family tradition, even more so than when we’re at home on Greenwood Lake.

Our extended family started their kids early, and we spend a few hours each day doing this kind of thing…

I’m getting used to the water sports thing, but I’m still not as skilled as the under-10 set.

Sometimes we don’t make the best decisions. Margs on the dock….

…can lead to this kind of behavior which is all fun and games until you end up in the lake, fully-clothed, looking for your glass of wine, shamefully admitting defeat.

At least there were several other volunteers for clothing-on wakesurfing, which I suppose is better than clothing-off, which probably happens somewhere in a parallel universe. We’re not ready to go there yet but with this crew, it’s always a possibility.

Lake Martin is such an immense body of water that you spend a lot of time on the boat driving from one location to the next. One place we visit is the cousins of my in-laws who host us for an annual volleyball game / white wine drink-a-thon.

There, gauntlets are thrown, games are won and lost, and we vow to take our opponents down the following year. Heading back to our home base is always sweet; there’s time to lick our wounds, nurse sore muscles and and enjoy some of Lake Martin’s stellar sunsets.

This one particularly enjoys the ride home…

This year we visited a place called goat island where swung off a rope swing, docked the boat, and had a fun afternoon of quiet beach time…

….until the volleyball crew showed up with their signature case of white wine.

One talent show later, and a last supper of surf & turf, it was time to hit the sack, wake up early, and start the long journey home.

Until next year Alabama, you’ll be missed….