We took advantage of 80 degree weather to do some boating today. RC and I floated around a bit, then met Brad and Auburn at the Pelican Grill. Once again, there were no pelicans, but there was a duck.
Earlier in the morning, we left the bow cover on and shut the door that blocks the bow from the main part of the boat. That made it perfectly comfortable with temperatures in the 60s. After lunch, it was still kinda cool for the kids riding in the bow once you added a 50 mph wind chill:
Gracie seemed to really enjoy herself. She’s an honest to goodness boat dawg.
The strike is still ongoing, but I’m posting Flickr pics like crazy. Rhonda is in another Repeat Street commercial that was filmed at Lost Rabbit.
Rhonda, Beth, Tobi, Gracie and I took the boat out Sunday afternoon. Although the temperature was over 100 degrees, we were plenty cool as we drank tons of water and stayed in the water.
Brad is having an MRI in the morning to determine how much the curvature in his back has progressed. Beth is moving into the Cottages of Hattiesburg Wednesday. We visited with my parents yesterday and both are sick…Momma is bad sick with a hyperactive thyroid. There are some decisions to be made in the next few weeks about treatment. Finally, Carolyn and Mark are coming down this week.
No posts lately. Not much going on, except Bruce went to New York for four days, Rhonda and Johnny went to California, and we are on vacation through the end of the month in Perdido. Seems like we could find something to post about…
At least we’re uploading pics by the score at my Flickr account.
We took the boat out today for the first time this year and went alone, as is our tradition. There are two many things that can go wrong the first time or two out. I had C&S Marine replace the water pump this past week (actually, Rhonda did) because it wasn’t picking water right. Once again, I didn’t winterize it and it ran just fine with the old $1.80 gas left over from last summer (I did mix in 7 gallons of $3.55 premium). The only time I’ve ever had trouble with the boat in the spring is the time after I winterized it…I fouled all the plugs on the first trip out.
We went on the main lake up to mile marker 5 and just drifted. Before loading the boat, we idled up into Main Harbor to look at the construction. Guess what? There is no construction. I don’t know if that development will ever happen.
I managed to keep up with all my email.
The clouds were more spectacular than my little “girl camera” could capture.
Speaking of spectacular…
We hauled the boat over to the house today and cranked it up. It started on the 4th try…not bad, considering it’s more than a dozen years old. However, the water isn’t circulating through the engine properly and coming out the back. If we had just dumped it in the reservoir instead of testing it in the driveway, we would have overheated within 5 minutes of leaving the dock. I want to replace (or pay someone to replace) the impeller and thermostat. The impeller has only been replaced once and the thermostat has never been replaced.
I’m thinking I will be using the boat a lot more this year, taking off some Mondays and Fridays when the lake is actually usable.
We skiied a little bit on the reservoir, then trailered it up to Highway 43. Joseph was with us and did really well on the wakeboard.
Beth had some really good cuts today and skiied quite a bit, but wanted to ski even more.
Brad kneeboarded for the first time since his surgery. It’s good to see him doing something besides video games!
Beffie took a fall or two today. That means she’s really trying.
We managed to get out and ski a little Saturday. Beth is making some really good turns on her left side. It was really too rough for skiing, though.
I used to always say that is you don’t bust, you aren’t really trying.
Jamie, Kacie, Brannon, and Brannon’s girlfriend Kelsey (sp?) went with us. Jamie got right up her first time, even though it’s been a while since she skiied. She also kneeboarded with no trouble. Brannon got up on a slalom ski for the first time. With his size, balance, and athleticism, it was no problem at all. Kelsey can ski and will next time, but she had soccer tryouts and Brannon had a baseball game, so they left early.
We’re going back on the water Sunday.
Brad and I are in survival mode as Rhonda and Beth are gone on Carnival’s Holiday ship until Saturday. I’m glad I never learned to cook as it turns out that you can buy almost anything and just heat it up. Here’s my list of stuff that I scored at Wally World:
- skillet meals (a true test of my ability to spray Pam)
- shrimp fried rice
- steak teriyaki
- teriyaki chicken
- microwave or heat ‘em up
- beef and bean burritos
- beef and cheese taquitos (120 seconds)
- mini-chicken sandwiches (45 seconds)
- corn dawgs
- cajun favorites – seafood fettuccine single serving
- italian sausage & rigatoni with roasted peppers in spicy tomato sauce – probably just for me, not Brad
- Ore-Ida fast food fries
We had steak teriyaki tonight (8 minutes at medium heat covered, then stir for 6 1/2 minutes). It claims to be for two people, but that assumes you haven’t been on the boat all day. Brad ate his share, then came back in for more. I had eaten the rest already. I told him we had stir-fry chicken that would take 8 minutes and he said that was too long! He heated up the 45 second mini-chicken sandwiches (3 of them), then came back in for something else.
We took the boat out today, launching at Safe Harbor and running up to the sandbar opposite Coal Bluff campground. I had intended to rent a slip for the summer today, but Brad was turned off by how junky it looked and he thought we should wait for Rhonda to come home. I admit it’s junky, but there are no alternatives until the new development is completed at Main Harbor. My boat (actually, the combination of my boat with my trailer) is so hard to launch that Rhonda and Beth can’t take it out by themselves. If I had a slip on the water, I would have to deal with the scum on the bottom (no bottom paint for me on a ski boat!), but we would use it a whole lot more. It’s 15 minutes from the house to board it, then 20 minutes downriver to the reservoir and 25 minutes up to Cole’s Bluff. I figure that a pressure washing once a month would keep the scum to a minimum, except where the trailer boards go…I couldn’t get to that area of the boat. I even computed the extra cost of buying fuel on the water instead of at a gas station – I figure $30 extra a month based on 40 gallons a month. I bought all the stuff at Wally World to fix up the slip (extra fenders, some line to create a grabline for docking, new winch strap, etc.), tried to negotiate a free trailer storage deal, and all but signed up for the slip. Brad talked me out of it. We’ll see what happens when RC and Beth get home – my guess is that they’ll jump on the idea.
We took Gracie out (she loves going on the boat) and just chilled at a sandbar. Not many people were out, but there were a whole lot of people who have staked out places for Memorial Day weekend. Thunderstorms popped up all around us, but we headed back in time to avoid them. It did get rough, even on the river, but it could have been a lot worse. It was raining cats and dogs on the reservoir and I had considered putting in there. We would have been stuck until the storms passed. At least Rhonda’s plants got watered – it looked like heavy rain had come down at our house.
No word from the girls – either they have no internet connectivity or no feelings…could go either way.
Micki sent us this picture of the Elizabeth sailing on Choctawhatchee Bay last Friday. That’s her parents, Carolyn and Chris.
Johnny gave the boat to Micki a while ago and she’s redone it from stem to stern, with the help of her friends.
Rhonda, Gracie, Joseph, Brad, Beth (surprisingly!) and I went up river again for the second week in a row.
Gracie
Beth
Beth was making some good turns, but riding through the wake on a flat ski. I tried to show her better habits, but I chickened out and ended up sore for no reason!
Joseph
Joseph brought his own wakeboard. He got up really easy and did a few jumps.
Brad
Brad stuck with kneedboarding. He had trouble getting up because he gained about 25 pounds and 4 1/2 inches last year, but once he got the hang of it, he was good to go.
Note the Michael Jordan look.
He’s still got it!