LAKE LIFE LESSONS LEARNED

My husband and I recently bought a second home at Lake Sinclair.  We always knew we wanted to retire on a lake.  Although we are not at retirement age, we decided to go ahead and buy a lake house so we can start enjoying everything owning a house on a lake can offer.  Our home sits on a steep incline, which means we have a lot of steps to go down to get to the boat house. Until we sell this house and buy another, we need to be young and fit to go up and down the steps. 😄

My husband and I have 3 dogs, that we adore and dote on.  My husband added fencing and gates so that our pups have a safe place outside.  Before we did anything to the house, we made sure our dogs were safe first.  Our fur babies mean the world to us.  My husband and I could not wait to go out on the boat with our fur babies and see how they would react to the boat, the lake, and all the surroundings.
        GRACIE                              SHADOW                  JACK (maltese) & my husband, Tom

  

 So here is what I learned so far. I hope these tips help anyone who is new to lake life.  Feel free to click on the product links to check them out for yourself.

↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞

1.  Dogs need life vests just like people do.  I was worried sick the entire time they were on the boat, afraid they would jump and/or fall into the lake.  You never know how they are going to react to the water, and if there is an accident and they fall in, they will be scared and not know how to react.  Life vests for dogs was #1 on my list.  I highly recommend Vivaglory Life Jacket from Amazon.  These life vests come in different colors and different sizes.  We have a small, medium, and large dog, so this was convenient.  I loved the choices for colors since we have 1 female and 2 male dogs. These Vivaglory life vests are also reflective for boating at night.    The straps are adjustable for a good fit and I keep them under the seats on the boat.


2.  Always, always, always take sunscreen.  Of course, you all know that, but  for some reason, I was too busy getting the dogs down the steps and on the boat, I forgot my sunscreen ☹
Not only did I get burned on my face, but my lips also were burned.  I like organic products and found All Good Organic Lip Balm.  The ingredients include olive oil, bees wax, and vitamin E.  It's convenient and I throw it in my bag that I take on the boat.  We are all good, well most of us LOL, about protecting our skin from the sun, we need to protect our lips as well.



3.  I have also learned that 2 coolers work best.  We have a pontoon which allows for plenty of storage.  We learned that 1 cooler wasn't enough for us, you would think with the 2 of us 1 would be enough, but when we pack for the dogs and stay out all day, we need the additional cooler.  We found this portable Yeti Cooler which is functional not only on the boat, but also for the canoe and paddleboard.  It can hold cans, bottles of water, as well as a few snacks.  It's easy to carry and I love it because I can carry this cooler along with my boat bag and other items down to the boat.

We also use a Yeti Tundra Cooler that we store under the seats for the long days we are out on the lake.  Yeti is such a great product, we never worry about whether our drinks and food will stay cold or not.  This cooler comes in a variety of colors, which I love so I can have fun choosing a cooler for the boat.

4.  I had to make sure my fur babies were able to drink water.  Another great find are these great water bottles that also have collapsible drinking bowls. Don't you just love Amazon? 😃  Remember my Yeti Hopper Portable Cooler?  These are easily stored in this cooler.  These are perfect to keep water for the dogs and a convenient bowl for them to drink out of.  Easy breezy...

These are just a few of the lessons I have learned - I have more so there will probably be a "Part 2" 😂

No matter where you are boating, stay safe, and have fun!

-Sharon McLaughlin
Mrs. Georgia International 2018
Wife, Mother, Nana
Blogger