Father's Day for the 'Big Boys'

I got up at 6:15am. I needed to exercise, walk Ykraps, run and shower all before 7:50am. We were planning to meet Dad and brother Bob’s family at the Hilliard Frisch’s. I still made a pot of coffee despite our early breakfast plans. After completing my exercises I launched the sprinkler pump to begin saturating the front lawn. I walked Ykraps before heading out for a run. I was pushing the clock for every minute.

I dressed and left for a run at 7:06am. I woke Mindy just before heading out the door. I ran Trabue Rd, and because it was so early, traffic wasn’t an issue. I arrived back home at 7:35am. I headed directly for the shower. Mindy was all ready after skipping a shower. We were ready to depart by 7:50am. Mindy had another Father’s Day gift waiting for me on the island. She insisted that I open it before we left. It was a spare running kit to keep in my office. It included running shorts, a towel, and a vast assortment of shower supplies. Cute!

My dad was sitting parked in the Frisch’s lot when we pulled up. It was just before 8:00am. It didn’t take long at all for us to get there. Bobby & family arrived minutes later after giving dad a call on his cell. While waiting we took some photos posing with the Big Boy statue.

I haven’t eaten at a Frisch’s Restaurant since the summer of 1991. I remember that because it’s the summer that I bought my boat. Dad and I had been out boat shopping just prior to eating there last. Everyone but Dad ordered the breakfast buffet. It was really good, too, and there was plenty of everything. We’ll return. Bob was gracious enough to get the tab. Thanks Bob! We enjoyed the visit with family and the lively discussion. As we all departed, we headed straight for Lee’s boat storage to pick-up our boat.

It didn’t take long to get the boat attached and on our way home. I thought we hit the second of two speed bumps in their lot a little hard, but I figured the boat just bounced a little on the trailer. When we got home Mindy got to prepping for our trip while I made sure the boat was still water ready. But as luck would have it, it was not. The battery was completely dead. For this I was not too surprised. I really expected to replace the battery last year. I was surprised that it lasted. I jumped it and it started fairly easily. I let it run for a while I took care of a few more details and loaded all of our gear. We turned off the sprinkler before leaving. We pulled away at 10:45am. We were heading to Griggs since we had to be home to meet the kids by 4pm.

We arrived at the river by 11am. It was a little more crowded than I expected, but nothing close to what Alum would’ve been like. We were launch ready in about five minutes. There was only one boat in front of us. We put the boat in without any problems and after parking the trailer we were ready to shove off the dock. But a turn of the key netted negative results – only clicking. Dead battery! I took the dead battery in stride. I figured we’d pull the boat and go get a new one. It was over due anyhow. So, I jog back to get the trailer feeling a bit sheepish for holding up others waiting their turn at the dock. I return to pull out the boat and get right in. Just as we’re pulling out I notice one of the trailer boards that the boat typically rests on is floating off the trailer just under the boat. Glad I checked. Another gentleman nearby saw it too and advised that I better put the boat back in and pull the trailer out to check.. And honestly, I the potential for significant harm didn’t register at first. As I went to pull it out I thought about what he said again and took another look. His point was that if the boat failed to force the board back into place the boat’s hull could be speared by the steel mount for the board. Good catch! We talked about my options before I made my next move. I ended up placing a screw driver in the hole of the mount and the board therefore holding it in place as I pulled it up and out of the water enough to see it better.

The gentleman happened to have just the right sized stainless steel bolt, washers, and nut on hand and offered it up. I accepted. Thank God he was there to watch over me – angel of sorts. Mindy and I both figured that the bolt sheared off when we went over that speed bump and we heard that bouncing thud. We pulled out and along the boat prep area. We decided that Mindy would stay back with the boat while went after a new battery Tuttle Mall Sears Auto Center. I figured a 30-45 trip maximum. And that’s how long it took. I was back and ready to put-in by noon. Don’t think for a minute that I wasn’t stressed, however, because I was. Mindy will tell you that I was a butt! I tried being polite, but I was definitely short. It had already been a very taxing morning.

We had a little bit of struggle getting the boat away from the dock, but minutes later we were fully underway – at last. We took an enjoyable cruise up north as far as we felt comfortable heading – perhaps about a half mile north of the river island. It was hot and sunny and the water still. There’s something about that piece of river that calls me. It’s teeming with wild life and beautiful nature, and it’s so darn peaceful, too. We hung out up there for about two hours. We saw a deer, turtles, and countless blue heron. There very, very abundant up there. We saw some big bass jumping up out of the grassy edges to apparently get some grub also. Very cool! We pulled anchor and headed back at 2:45pm. Past experienced shows that it’s an hour or so from anchors up to home.

We went through our usual clean-up and took the boat back to storage before heading home. We arrived home just before 4pm – perfect timing. I watered the back yard flowers as soon as we got home. I purposefully skipped their morning watering. I could see first hand the stress that placed on many of the flowers. That proves that they need their water every morning to prevent any hint of dryness. They’re very demanding. Just as I finished the kids returned home from a weekend with dad. They both came out and hugged me and brought me a F.D. card. Thanks Jacob & Bella!

Soon my two youngest daughters showed up with their kids (Rocky, Olivia and Landon). They were over for dinner. It was nice to see them all. I must admit, however, that they turn our home upside down. Our home goes from a peaceful retreat to something far removed from that. Jacob & I took a canoe ride on the pond while everyone else played inside. Both of us were eager to get out on the water. Our neighbor Diane keeps her little canoe stowed at our place on occasion. Jacob and I paddled back to the main body of water and close to the damn. It’s so nice having he water level back to normal or higher.
Once we got close to the damn I now could see why the water level was up. Someone (the city I presume) rebuilt it. I could easily detect newly poured concrete walls despite not wearing my glasses. I thought a hike back to the damn might be in order later.

Back on dry land I started the grill at Mindy’s request. Soon we were grilling chicken and hot dogs. Olivia is really beginning to get around now. The chase officially begins NOW! We ate our dinner while the girls filled our heads with horror stories about daughter Courtney. It’s funny how they, especially Lindsey, like to share the stories but don’t want to deal with the real solutions. I guess they just want to vent. I want the issues fixed! It causes me untold heartache and stress.

I was watering the lawn all the while dinner was going on. There were isolated thunderstorms in the area, but they narrowly missed us. However, we did get a little liquid sunshine. The girls left sometime around 7pm. After cleaning up, Mindy, the kids and I had a brief water balloon fight. Mindy was a bit taken back with my zeal. J

I convinced the family to take a hike before calling it a night. We had done a similar family hike in May 2006, and Jacob and I were back there the first weekend of May 2007. We all put on our tennis shoes and hiked back through the woods and thicket. We were amazed at how tall the field grasses were. They were thick and probably 6ft. We followed the slightly beaten trails the best we could but eventually got off track due to the thick under brush, failing each attempt. Eventually we found our way to the original trail and found our way in to the damn, at last! We could hear the waterfall but struggled to get there. We tried a couple routes. My hunch was correct. The entire damn has been replaced. Looks like they did a very nice job too. We were excited to see the improvement. Perhaps we’ll buy our own canoe.

The sun was beginning to set. It was time to head home. We forged our way back though the high grasses and eventually through the thicket. We scared a young deer who was apparently nesting quietly just in font of us. You can just imagine how startled we all were when it up and took off right in front of our eyes. As we approached home and entered the thick under brush, darkness came quickly. Daylight has a very difficult time penetrating the brush. We were covered with sweat and grit as we exited the woods. We were happy to be back in our own yard, but also happy for the shared experience. Jacob and I took a rubbing alcohol bath with cotton balls before taking a shower to remove any poison ivy oil. We rubbed against several patches of the mean stuff along the trail. Mindy’s lucky enough to not get it. After four showers we tucked the kids into bed and eventually made our way there ourselves.