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Tuesday, August 16, 2011

taking the plunge, Austin style



Took one of my kids and three of her friends kayaking this afternoon. Playing super mom, my husband Sam called it.


We rented three kayaks and set out for Town Lake, aka newly-named-but-seldom-referred-to-by-the-locals-as Lady Bird Lake.



First we paddled under the Barton Springs Footbridge.




Here's a view pedestrians see when walking along Town Lake Hike 'n Bike Trail:




Then we paddled under the Barton Springs Road Bridge.




Then once we were out on the lake, we headed for our final destiny, the Lamar Street Bridge. It spans the lake, connecting SoLa (South Lamar) on the south side of the Colorado River, with downtown's 5th Street.



Once we made it, my daughter and her friends were in awe of the bridge jumpers, the young people who park their kayaks underneath, climb up onto the trestles and plunge into the water.



Here's a look from under the bridge.



Of course, what did Daring Daughter (DD) and her friends quickly set as their goal? I didn't think they would succeed in climbing up to the trestle landing so I didn't try to stop them. Amused, I stayed out in the middle of the lake watching.

Undeterred, the kids piled one kayak on top of the other on the center landing. With a handup from one of the jumper dudes (super mom hadn't seen this coming) next thing I knew they were up on the trestle.

It took them over a dozen one, two, threes before getting up the nerve to fling themselves out to the water.



Again and again they jumped (from the second wrung, not the third as pictured above), screaming and squealing. Wish I had my camera so I could have captured their huge smiles.

I'm pretty sure it's illegal, this bridge jumping, but some things in life are too much fun to let something as silly as a local law to get in the way. Sometimes a mom just has to look the other way. Or in my case, keep her eyes glued so as not to miss a second of it.

All pictures courtesy of other Austin photographers.

14 comments:

Red Shoes said...

That does sound like a great deal of fun! I need to come back to Austin... I hear I can buy some very cool cowboy boots out there... :oD

~shoes~

Anonymous said...

Love it! I am the same type of mom. (But I do get in a bit of trouble because of it!)

Jodi Pharo said...

such gorgeous photos! what a great day.

hokgardner said...

Super mom indeed, given the weather.

Tammy said...

It's a beautiful place to kayak and jump of bridges, haha!

Kathleen Scott said...

You're braver than I am. I wouldn't be able to think of anything except the damage if one slipped.

Checked the trail by the lake this week & the herd has moved on. Only I Love Moo left, guarding the Lamar corner. Time for a cow scavenger hunt...

Mental P Mama said...

What fun! And I love that picture that is second from the last...beautiful. You Super Mom, you;)

Lee said...

Is the river cold? I'm hoping we finally make it to Wright's lake for some kayaking tomorrow. No bridge jumping for me.

You scored some "cool mom" points for sure. :)

Elliot MacLeod-Michael said...

Don't I know it. There's a local law here that says it's not okay to skip out on your bill at a restaurant. But I be doin that shit all the time.

shrink on the couch said...

Red Shoes -- Yes, lots of boots. You might even be able to find some red ones!

Kathleen -- That's what I figured, that the cows would be dispersed. But fun to spot them around town.

Lee -- Not so much cold as cool enough to refresh.

Jenn @ Youknow...that Blog? said...

Super mom! Love that - looks like a great time and you'll all have great memories of it. I love kayaking, and really want to buy some but the Hubby is being a poop about it. I'll have them yet, but it may be next year instead ;)

Susan said...

What a memorable summer day!

Hanna said...

great moments - looks like a hell lot of fun! And yeah, things like this should not be held back... ;-)

NormalWasNotMyGoal said...

Awesome!! Over vacation this year, my 5 year old daughter and 7 year old niece (can you say Thelma & Louise) convinced me to let them jump off a bridge that was on the lake we were staying at.
I gotta say, I was one proud mama!!!