DiscoverBoating

DiscoverBoatingDisclosure

Summer is right around the corner – and in some parts of the country, it’s already here! Well, if you count the gorgeous  sunny weather we’ve been blessed with lately here in the Pacific Northwest. I sure do!

One of the reasons I was so anxious to move back to my home state of Washington was the multiple opportunities to get out on the water. And be in the same state as a majority of my family members and friends, of course.

One of the things I missed while living in PA (besides the family thing, that is) was getting out on the beautiful water with friends and family and just enjoying what water life has to offer. At least when I lived in Michigan, I had the chance to hang out with friends who conveniently lived on a lake:

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In case you hadn’t figured it out, that’s me on the left. Don’t ask me why I had a frown going on – probably because I was concentrating on my friends’ instructions on how this whole boogie board thing worked. Luckily I managed to figure it out, though there is no photographic proof, since most shots were like this:

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You’ll just have to trust me I finally figured it out. Even Old Elvis as a puppy enjoyed hanging out on the boat in the summertime:

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Notice he was a very smart puppy, hanging out on top of a vest.

Fast forward years later when we were living in Pennsylvania, we had the chance to hang out on the water with some good friends and enjoy the sunny day fishing. Even Princess Nagger got into the whole fishing thing:

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She was the only one that caught a fish that day, and loved the experience (even though her fishy had to be tossed back since it was too small to keep). At least she caught that one fish before she accidentally tossed her fishing pole into the lake, never to be seen again. Oops.

I’m excited to announce that I am an Ambassador for Discover Boating this year! Perfect timing what with the whole move back to Washington State and all, since my entire family love the boating experience so much, my dad even owns at least three different boats. It remains to be seen if they all run or not, but we’ll see to it at least one does or some fun excursions out on the water. Just you wait and see!

Along with just having fun with friends and family out on the water, we’re also a fishing family. I remember my first fishing excursion with my dad out on a lake when I was four years old – we spent the entire day out on the water, and I like to give him a hard time about the fact that I was the only one who caught a fish that day.

The funniest part of that story is that he had rigged a broom stick handle with some fishing line and a safety pin for me to use – you know, so it wouldn’t be a big deal if I accidentally tossed it in the water. Not only did I not lose my makeshift fishing pole in the water, I caught a fish on it. I showed him.

Every year our family would go camping up in the mountains and go fishing in the rivers, or camp down at the ocean and fish off the jetty – when we couldn’t get to either of those locations, we’d take the boat out in Puget Sound or on one of the many lakes in the area and just spend the day on the water enjoying each other’s company fishing the day away.

Then there are the party times with my brother and friends – we even braved the crowds one year and had a boat out on the water for Seafair weekend, watching the races and working on our tans. In Michigan, I had friends with a pontoon boat that resulted in many weekends of fun on the water – and one of the reasons I love the song “Pontoon” by Little Big Town. I can’t wait to get out on the water this year!

Not only is boating fun, it can be inspiring, too. One of my favorite artists, Jake Owen (known for his chart-topping music as well as his love for life on the water), lives and loves the boating lifestyle and includes that passion into his music. Check out this video about his love of boating:

Just for fun, here’s one of my favorite songs by Jake Owen, called “Beachin’:

You don’t have to be a boat owner to go out on the water this summer – you could consider renting or chartering a boat for some fun! The Discover Boating website has a wealth of information on how easy it is to rent boats and more!

There’s also a cool contest you should know about – starting mid-June, you can submit your best Independence Day boating photos for the Discover Boating Facebook Photo Contest. Contest runs mid-June through early July. 

You can learn more about boating on the Discover Boating website.

Connect with others interested in boating by connecting with Discover Boating on Twitter, InstagramFacebook, and Pinterest. Be sure to use hashtag #DiscoverBoating when you do!

Do you do any sort of boating during the summer? Any plans for getting out on the water this year?

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Note: I participated in an Ambassador Program on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Discover Boating. I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation. As usual, all opinions are my own and not influenced by outside sources. See my disclosure policy here.