I woke earlier than I needed to. I got up Saturday morning somewhere near 7:15am after about 7+ hours sleep. Thankfully I had taken some Advil the night before. Missing were the tell tale signs of a Friday night celebrating vigorously at Barley's.
From the outset, our intentions were to be boating today and the weather matched up fine with our intentions. Superb! The temperature was predicted to toy with 90 degrees with high humidity and mostly sunny skies. Through my exercise, walk with Ykraps, and morning coffee, and then my run, we were blessed with crystal clear skies and warm temps. During my run I decided that boating would best be accomplished at Griggs given our agressive plans for the evening. While at Barley's, we invited Bob & Mary Ann, & Jeremy and Courtney over for a cookout. At his insistence, Bob was bringing the steak and shrimp. They wouldn't be over until closer to 8pm but we had some prep to accomplish ahead of time. If we went to Griggs we could leave around 4pm and still be home and settled before 5pm. On the other hand, If we went to Alum Creek we would be spending an additional 2 hours just in travel time, let alone the inflated crowds always at Alum Creek on the 4th of July weekend. I shared my thoughts with Mindy when I returned. She was good with Griggs.
Mindy had a nice breakfast ready by the time I returned from my run. After enjoying that on the deck, we readied for boating. Our goal was to be out of the house by 10:30am so I didn't laze around much. Because it was just the two of us, it didn't take long at all to get everythign to gether. We were out the door by 10:45, and by the time we had picked up the boat, gassed it up , and got some ice, it was 11:15am. given that Griggs was right around the corner it looked as if we'd be wet by noon. We were. And while there were a few other boats putting in or pulling out at the same time we were putting in, it was significantly less crowded than Alum Creek.
We cruised down by the dam before heading up north of the Hayden Run bridge. After about 45 minutes, we dropped aanchor just north of my ususal spot. There we sat in the sun for about three hours talking, playing guitar, or reading. It was a banner summer day. A little after 3pm we began our return to the dock., and by 4pm we were pulling out and covering the boat. Both of us got plenty of sunshine on our skin and a mindful of untamed central Ohio nature. Come to think of it, boating is like summer hiking.
After dropping the boat back at Lee's RV's we headed home where began organizing oursleves around the upcoming dinner party. We had put together a list of 'must haves' while boating, and we decided that I would do tyhe fetching while Mindy stayed back and tidied up the house & showered. Before I left I spent a little time on the deck, including readying my tiki torches. They are old but functional. Even though they were still full of fuel, I replaced it because the old stuff was extremely gummy. I lit them to test out their burnability and practically burned down the deck. I thought that I had capped the first torch completey thereby snuffing the flames, but when I turned a few minutes later i saw the wodden cap was in flames. I went to the house for some water and doosed the torch kncoking the cap to the ground amonst my shrubery. Soon my shrubs were on fire. I hoped that Mindsy and the neighbors weren't watching my escapades. It was like a three ring circus. I managed ot get things under control a pretty quickly. Tradegedy avoided! I left for Kroger and filled my Trooper along the way - $2.87 per gallon. Eventually I made it to Kroger - Silverhorn and picked up everything on our list. I dropped another hundo. Along the way home, I stopped at Wal-Mart to see what they had in the way of tiki torches. I ended up leaving empty handed thinking that mine were fine after all, and they are.
As soon as i was home, Mindy began prepping the green beans and red skin potatoes sides. While she did that, I watered the front lawn flowers. It was a very hot and dry day. In fact, the lawn was already showing signs of stress. After watering, I took a fast shower and helped Mindy tidy things up a little further.
Come 8pm our guests began to arrive. First, Jeremy and Courtney showed up followed soon after by brother Tommy, and then Bob and Mary Ann. We grazed on snacks for a bit while also enjoying the home brewed IPA that Jeremy concoted. And after several failed attempts, his home brew turned out really well. I was impressed with the body, flavor, and coloring. Along with a sample of his home brew, Jeremy & Courtney brought three jugs of Barley's IPA and a bottle of vino. Soon it was time to fire up the grill, and Bob did the honors. Bob brought the steak and shrimp. These weren't your run of mill steaks or shrimp either. First, the steaks were a combination of filets, ribeyes, and strips and they were at least 1.5 inches thick and of excellent quality. The shrimp were equally as temptuous. They were as big as my hand. It wasn't long before we had everything cooking away on the grill.
Mindy got all of the sides she had prepared out of the fridge and soon were eating some of the best grilled meats I had eaten in a long, long while. After finishing up our dinner we relaxed deck while enjoying more beverages. Soon Bob broke out the fireworks and put on one heck of a patriotic display. After the fireworks we enjoyed some tunes on the deck until after midnight when everyone left for home. Before Bob left, we confirmed our plans for carpooling to Blacklick Golf Course. After all of our guests had departed, Mindy and I straightened up a little and then went to bed ourselves. We had a very action packed day indeed!
I woke earlier than I needed to. I got up Saturday morning somewhere near 7:15am after about 7+ hours sleep. Thankfully I had taken some Advil the night before. Missing were the tell tale signs of a Friday night celebrating vigorously at Barley's.
From the outset, our intentions were to be boating today and the weather matched up fine with our intentions. Superb! The temperature was predicted to toy with 90 degrees with high humidity and mostly sunny skies. Through my exercise, walk with Ykraps, and morning coffee, and then my run, we were blessed with crystal clear skies and warm temps. During my run I decided that boating would best be accomplished at Griggs given our agressive plans for the evening. While at Barley's, we invited Bob & Mary Ann, & Jeremy and Courtney over for a cookout. At his insistence, Bob was bringing the steak and shrimp. They wouldn't be over until closer to 8pm but we had some prep to accomplish ahead of time. If we went to Griggs we could leave around 4pm and still be home and settled before 5pm. On the other hand, If we went to Alum Creek we would be spending an additional 2 hours just in travel time, let alone the inflated crowds always at Alum Creek on the 4th of July weekend. I shared my thoughts with Mindy when I returned. She was good with Griggs.
Mindy had a nice breakfast ready by the time I returned from my run. After enjoying that on the deck, we readied for boating. Our goal was to be out of the house by 10:30am so I didn't laze around much. Because it was just the two of us, it didn't take long at all to get everythign to gether. We were out the door by 10:45, and by the time we had picked up the boat, gassed it up , and got some ice, it was 11:15am. given that Griggs was right around the corner it looked as if we'd be wet by noon. We were. And while there were a few other boats putting in or pulling out at the same time we were putting in, it was significantly less crowded than Alum Creek.
We cruised down by the dam before heading up north of the Hayden Run bridge. After about 45 minutes, we dropped aanchor just north of my ususal spot. There we sat in the sun for about three hours talking, playing guitar, or reading. It was a banner summer day. A little after 3pm we began our return to the dock., and by 4pm we were pulling out and covering the boat. Both of us got plenty of sunshine on our skin and a mindful of untamed central Ohio nature. Come to think of it, boating is like summer hiking.
After dropping the boat back at Lee's RV's we headed home where began organizing oursleves around the upcoming dinner party. We had put together a list of 'must haves' while boating, and we decided that I would do tyhe fetching while Mindy stayed back and tidied up the house & showered. Before I left I spent a little time on the deck, including readying my tiki torches. They are old but functional. Even though they were still full of fuel, I replaced it because the old stuff was extremely gummy. I lit them to test out their burnability and practically burned down the deck. I thought that I had capped the first torch completey thereby snuffing the flames, but when I turned a few minutes later i saw the wodden cap was in flames. I went to the house for some water and doosed the torch kncoking the cap to the ground amonst my shrubery. Soon my shrubs were on fire. I hoped that Mindsy and the neighbors weren't watching my escapades. It was like a three ring circus. I managed ot get things under control a pretty quickly. Tradegedy avoided! I left for Kroger and filled my Trooper along the way - $2.87 per gallon. Eventually I made it to Kroger - Silverhorn and picked up everything on our list. I dropped another hundo. Along the way home, I stopped at Wal-Mart to see what they had in the way of tiki torches. I ended up leaving empty handed thinking that mine were fine after all, and they are.
As soon as i was home, Mindy began prepping the green beans and red skin potatoes sides. While she did that, I watered the front lawn flowers. It was a very hot and dry day. In fact, the lawn was already showing signs of stress. After watering, I took a fast shower and helped Mindy tidy things up a little further.
Come 8pm our guests began to arrive. First, Jeremy and Courtney showed up followed soon after by brother Tommy, and then Bob and Mary Ann. We grazed on snacks for a bit while also enjoying the home brewed IPA that Jeremy concoted. And after several failed attempts, his home brew turned out really well. I was impressed with the body, flavor, and coloring. Along with a sample of his home brew, Jeremy & Courtney brought three jugs of Barley's IPA and a bottle of vino. Soon it was time to fire up the grill, and Bob did the honors. Bob brought the steak and shrimp. These weren't your run of mill steaks or shrimp either. First, the steaks were a combination of filets, ribeyes, and strips and they were at least 1.5 inches thick and of excellent quality. The shrimp were equally as temptuous. They were as big as my hand. It wasn't long before we had everything cooking away on the grill.
Mindy got all of the sides she had prepared out of the fridge and soon were eating some of the best grilled meats I had eaten in a long, long while. After finishing up our dinner we relaxed deck while enjoying more beverages. Soon Bob broke out the fireworks and put on one heck of a patriotic display. After the fireworks we enjoyed some tunes on the deck until after midnight when everyone left for home. Before Bob left, we confirmed our plans for carpooling to Blacklick Golf Course. After all of our guests had departed, Mindy and I straightened up a little and then went to bed ourselves. We had a very action packed day indeed!
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