Mini-vacation at Lantana Lodge, Day 2

Despite the dire warnings about scorpions in our bed, we passed a restful night and prepared to embark on our adventures for the day.

After breakfast we grabbed cameras and headed out to explore the paths that led to the shore from the lodge. Most of the shoreline was rocky, but one section smoothed out into a kind of beach. We found lots of animal tracks in that section -- from my five minutes of Internet research, I have decided most were probably tracks of a coyote and either a squirrel or a skunk. Some obvious bird tracks appeared as well.

We were interested in the beach area because we'd brought the Hobies and thought we might beach them at lunchtime and walk up to the restaurant. We didn't need to because the lodge had a floating dock around a bend on the other side.

While we were walking back up to our room to change into our boat clothes, I felt something stab my toe. I wear closed-toe sandals, so I was a bit confused as to how a thorn managed to get in there. Back at the room, Sharon pulled what we thought was a thorn from my toe, but I noticed I had another spot just below the thorn site that looked like an ant bite, and my toe hurt a lot more that it does when stabbed by a thorn.

Kayakers cross the lake while we explore the shoreline.

Maybe a scorpion? Who knows. A scorpion sting certainly makes for a better story.

We headed for the lake and decided to sail around an island we'd spotted just east of the lodge. As we drew closer, Sharon noticed tree stumps sticking up from the water. As we passed the edge of the island we saw telephone poles as well as tree limbs. Plans for sailing all the way around were abandoned. It was late enough for lunch, so we headed back in.

We ordered hamburgers for lunch, and they brought us monsters. Big, juicy patties with what appeared to be homemade buns. The meat had to weigh in at a half pound, and the menu indicated you could order a bigger one if you wanted. We made up for it by ordering salads on the side instead of fries. But our diets were blown for the weekend.

Back on the lake the winds had kicked up over the morning but were quite manageable and made for a pleasant afternoon of scudding about the lake. For a change, Sharon fell way off from me. I'm usually chasing her wake.

The lake is large enough that even though plenty of boats were out, we never felt crowded, and by the time the wakes passed us, they weren't the toss-you-about wakes we're used to on smaller lakes. All in all, a pleasant, peaceful day on the water.

In fact, the whole weekend could be described as pleasant and peaceful. Despite the number of guests, including some children, the place seemed quiet. Even the boats didn't seem to make as much noise as at the smaller lakes we usually inhabit. The space seemed to swallow up sound. No push, no hurry. Just relax and enjoy yourself, the area seemed to whisper.

We decided to try out a Mexican food place in Pilot Point that we'd seen driving in and whose telephone book ad promised low-fat, low cholesterol fare. Either they changed their philosophy in the years after that book was published -- it was several years old -- or they lied. Either way, if our diets had been blown before, they certainly were after supper. But it was yummy.

And apparently Ernesto's is the place to come in the area. The parking lot and restaurant were jammed with people.

Back at the lodge, we popped in another movie we'd brought and crashed as soon as it was over. Another grand day.