The good, bad, ugly and completely bizarre of our weekend fishing excursion


Good: My first fishing trip ever! (Not counting the time my mom took us kids to a stocked lake at Neil's insistence. Don't remember catching anything. Or the time last year Steve decided to start fishing with the boys so we bought licences and gear and went to an urban lake in Tempe and the boys' attention span lasted about 5 minutes. Didn't catch anything.)

Good: Very fun extended date with Steve and our funny, classy, wonderful friends David and Jami.

Very good: David and Jami did all the hard work--planned it, made reservations, drove, prepared lunch. It was heaven.

Good: Knew our kids were in good hands. (Thanks, mom.)

Good: Fun game night in a great little two-bedroom apartment hotel room.

Good: An entire, lazy day on a river in a stunningly beautiful Arizona canyon.

Bad: An entire day on a river when the air temp did not get above 39 degrees.

Good: My fabulous sister let me use her really warm ski clothes.

Good: Once in a while the sun came out.

Good: Our fishing guide gave us dirt on the celebrities he has worked with when they come to do fishing movies: Christian Slater=jerk; John Travolta=nice but flaky.

Ugly: Once I caught a glimpse of our fishing guide in his rearview mirror all contorted and had visions of a nightmarish serial killer who at any moment would turn around, get in my face, stick out his tongue and yell "Mwah ha ha ha ha!!"

Bad: Our guide pulled into a cove, dropped the anchor and asked, "Okay, Cookie, what'd you make us for lunch?"

Good: My friend Jami handled being called Cookie very gracefully.

Good: A delicious lunch of apples; mangos; white cheddar, blue, and brie cheeses; crackers; baguettes; olives; roast beef; turkey and salami.

Bad: Okay, I don't like salami.

Bad: I am turning 30 and still have never caught a fish.

Good: An appreciation for fishing as a sport that really does take some skill.

Good: David caught a fish, tossed the line back in, and let me reel it in and get my picture taken with it, so I can fake out my kids like I really did catch a fish.

Completely bizarre: Two Mormon missionaries walking along the highway in the middle of nowhere hitchhiking. We turn around, pick them up, and they are going to visit an investigator on the reservation, but don't really know how to get there. We drive, drive, drive. Finally, "Turn right here." Really, we are dropping them off in nowhere land. They are 45 minutes by car, with no car, away from their next appointment in an hour and a half and don't seem worried about how they'll get there: "Someone will pick us up." It will be dark and very cold in about 30 minutes. Oh yeah, one of them was on his third day of his mission. Hello!? Mission President?? Do you know what these missionaries do every day? Hitchhiking across the vast northern Arizona expanse in the dark and freezing cold?? It was kind of surreal.

Overall, our trip was great! Good food, good friends, good fishing (for some of us) and good fun.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I'm glad you had fun, but isn't fishing the absolute WORST? You're so excited to catch a fish, and you see them jumping all over the place, taunting you. And you're sure by day's end you'll have one of those suckers on a frying pan. But somehow they know that you're almost 30 years old and it would be a real tragedy to have never caught a fish in those thirty years. So they just won't bite...
December 12, 2005 5:53 PM
Neil and Diana said…
When I read the part about "turning 30," your life and just a few of your many accomplishments flashed through my mind, Emily, not the least of which are your beautiful family, your three beautiful children, the strong relationships you have with your parents and siblings, the will and forbearance that have helped you accomplish such foreboding tasks as spending months in Namibia, and the generous spirit in which you share time, letters, cookies, your home, your energies, your ear, and your unmatchable sense of humor with your friends and community. You set the standard for almost 30!
December 12, 2005 6:59 PM
C. Jane Kendrick said…
When I am reading this post do I pronounce Jami like Jamie, or like Jam (like, with toast)-eye or like Jam(like, with toast)-ee?
Jamie?
Jam-eye?
Jam-ee?
Little help because it's important to me to get it right, in my head. You know.
Also, I am almost 30 and I don't even have a friend who would post such wonderful things as the previous comment above. Consider that better than catching fish, my friend.
December 13, 2005 7:56 PM
Emily said…
Abby -- I love it when you read my blog. When do I get to see you again, Mama Sharp?
Diana -- like I said, I think that was the nicest compliment I've ever gotten. You are 100 times better than catching fish. And you smell better, too. It has been a while since I've made cookies. Or written a letter. But I will take them both up again, for you.
Courtney -- you raise an interesting question. I've always called her Jami, as in Jamie. But what if I've been mispronouncing it all this time and her name is really Jam-Eye, but she didn't want to embarass me by correcting me? I think I will start calling her Jam-Eye from now on, as though I have known all along that that was the right pronunciation. You've saved me a lot of potential embarrassment. . . I owe you!
December 13, 2005 8:43 PM
Suzie Petunia said…
First of all... It was COLD in Arizona??

Second... I can only hope you would consider Taylor and I your "funny, classy, wonderful friends" too. (But don't count on us to take you fishing :)

Third... Your realize don't you, that you guys were a serious answer to a brand-spanking-green missionary's earnest pray in the middle of Arizona who was feeling lost, homesick and doubting his testimony in that very moment until you pulled up and offered a ride! How did they get home??
December 13, 2005 10:23 PM
Anonymous said…
Had I not served in the Chile-Osorno mission, I would have thought the same thing about the missionaries ("Hello?! Mission President?! Do you know what these missionaries do every day?). Some of our transfers were plane trips away from the Mission Office. Most days the mish pres had no idea what we were doing. Also, because our mission was large and there were harsh conditions (we were on the southern tip of Chile and the mission included Tierra del Fuego, Puerto Williams, and a military base on Antarctice), we sometimes had to do things that your average missionary shouldn't do. My husband (who also served in my mission), had to ride a horse through the snow to get to some of his appointments. (Usually, horse-riding is a no-no according to the "white Bible.") Other untraditional methods of transportation (such as hitch-hiking. . .) were also commonplace in our mish.

Anyway, I think that it was very cool that you decided to stop and give those poor missionaries a lift. I'm sure they greatly appreciated it. I hope, also, that the investigators did too. You have such a good heart, Emily!
December 15, 2005 1:58 PM
Anonymous said…
Other Good: The gorgeous view of the flaming red cliffs in the freezing sunrise, contrasted by deep blue shadows.

It was a great extended date. I'd also like to say, that I caught a fish. Of coarse Dave and our guide caught six or seven each, so I agree that fishing improves with your skill level.
December 17, 2005 8:55 AM
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