A chilly yet sunny boating day...
Monday morning was difficult to perceive from behind the thick curtains of 2nd floor room. But a quick peek out the sliding glass door revealed nothing but glorious sunshine. I quietly snuck off to the bathroom to change into my running clothes, brush my teeth, and choke down a vitamin. By 7:30am I was out the door leaving Mindy and the kids behind in the still darkened room.
I took off out the front of the lodge towards the golf course and cabins. There was a light fog setting on the lake yet the water was still visible. I could se several deer milling about while sunshine dappled the grounds about me. It was breathtakingly beautiful! And for the first time in a long, long while, I could see my breath. It was chilly but crystal clear. My initial run was up the steep hill to the golf course clubhouse to scope out the facility and the surrounding landscape. It was awesome! I left the golf course and ran towards the cabins and the lodge docks where our boat was moored. I saw a large buzzard resting in a tree watching me run by. It was an easy run down the hill but not so easy on the return up. The lake had small patches of fog scattered about and the water was as calm as a sheet of glass – certainly a site to behold. My run concluded at the lodge entrance where I returned, at least temporarily, to our assigned room, #261.
It was still very dark in the room and everyone was still sleeping. I found my water bottled and grabbed my book and sat on the balcony for a few minutes reading in the chilly but lovely summer air. Jacob eventually woke and joined me on the balcony. We decided to visit the game room on the lower level. I didn’t take money. I thought everything was free. We thought we’d play ping-pong but there were no balls to be found. I guessed that you’ve got to get them from the desk. Jacob insisted on playing some of the video games, but again we had no tokens or cash. We went back to the room where I grabbed my wallet then quickly returned. Jacob blew through a couple of bucks in a hurry. He tired of the games quicker than I thought he might. Again, we returned to the room.
Mindy and Bella were finally awake. Mindy had some coffee brewing. I shared the views I saw during my run and the hiking trail I found just beyond the lodge. We agreed to eat breakfast then take a family hike. It was a bit chilly for early boating.
We left for breakfast around 9am. We visited the lodge restaurant where the menu featured a buffet. We all took part. It was very yummy. They had lots of good eats. Our bill was $24 – not too bad at all. We left the lodge and set out on our hike. Mindy asked if the kids needed tennis shoes. I though not. We found our way to the hiking trail across form the golf course entrance. Soon we were in the woods on a hillside overlooking the pristine lake, which provided some amazing views. The trail was reported to be 2 miles long and ending up at the camp grounds. Bella wasn’t to thrilled with hiking. She whined for several minutes about this and that. At some point, after seeing a large spider web, she cried about the possibility of getting stuck in a web. It was sorta funny save for the incessant bitching. We took several pit stops along the trail taking in the spectacular views of the large rock formations as well as the lake. We took lots of pictures too. At one point we took a detour down to the water where we rested on a washed up log while Jacob snacked on wild raspberries. These kids are ALWAYS hungry! We hiked up and down the trails probably going a little over a mile deep. We decided to turn around realizing how traumatic this was on Bella. Jacob, being his silly self, found a very large log about 4 inches in diameter and about 8 foot long. He joked that it was his big hiking stick, since everybody had one. I quipped that I’d give him $20 bucks if he could carry it all the way back. I was sure that he couldn’t given all the hills and rough terrain we would have to traverse.
He made sure that if he made it back that I would give him the money. I agreed. Long story short, the little shit actually managed to carry the log back to the trails beginning. As hard as it was to part with the $20, I learned something about Jacob’s resolve. He told me along the way that it was killing him but that he was determined to earn the money. Hidden there within was a good lesson, I’m sure. I was proud of his perseverance.
We returned to our room where we quickly readied for a day on the lake. It was already 12:30pm. Finally, the temperature had warmed to a reasonable temp, but still there was an uncharacteristically chilly breeze. We pulled away from the dock with little fanfare and set out to explore the southern end of the lake and to ski.
We first cruised around the damn area where Mindy skied. I was sure that she was cold. After a couple of spills we then circled back through the no-wake zone and then south to the previously unexplored waters. We quickly found the landmarks we earmarked while hiking. Eventually we found our way to the campground beach where the kids & Mindy got out and swam. We anchored there for about an hour before moving on to the main Marina. There we refuel and checked out more of the lake, including the park’s main beach. It was now about 4pm. We pulled away from the marina with Bella in the tube going at idle speed. Once we got to the ski-zone Mindy plopped in the water for some more tubing. Jacob went after it again, too, but complained of pain. He didn’t last too long at all. Eventually we bagged the tube in favor of the skis. Mindy did a nice job once again. She even crossed the wake successfully a time or two before eventually falling.
Jacob insisted on trying to ski even though I knew it would be fruitless. He never got passed getting the skies on and in the ready position. He freaked out once he realized that Mindy would not be able to stay in the water with him. He really needs smaller, lighter skis to learn on. Bella once again tubed all the way back to the dock form the ski zone going only at idle speed. She seemed to enjoy the ride. We had a very pleasant day on the lake. AS we docked and covered the boat we chatted with two different couples who were docking, too. They both shared their opinion of Salt Fork being one of the finest lakes in all of Ohio. Both had been to numerous state parks but found this the nicest, most pleasing for boating. We concurred, mostly for its character.
Back at the lodge we showered up in preparation for dinner in the lodge dining room. We must’ve got there around 7pm but were told there’d be a 20 minute wait for a table by window overlooking the lake. We agreed. To kill the time we moseyed over to the Wildlife lounge where we enjoyed a couple cold beverages. I had a Great Lakes Burning River & Mindy a glass of Shiraz. The kids enjoyed Shirley Temples all the while hitting a few pool balls around. The time passed quickly and before we knew it was time to go eat our dinner.
We were seated in a booth overlooking the lake just as we were promised, and what a breathtaking view it was. Seth, our server, was very sharp and attentive. We was very good at the up-sell. We enjoyed our dinner and dropped almost $80 with tip. Mindy was whipped so we headed back to the room where we all got ready for bed. The move Beetlejuice was just beginning. We all watched intently, this being one of my all time favorites. The kids were enjoying it, but Mindy was concerned that the kids, especially Bella, would have nightmares. She turned it off about half way through as the kids and I began to dose.
Monday morning was difficult to perceive from behind the thick curtains of 2nd floor room. But a quick peek out the sliding glass door revealed nothing but glorious sunshine. I quietly snuck off to the bathroom to change into my running clothes, brush my teeth, and choke down a vitamin. By 7:30am I was out the door leaving Mindy and the kids behind in the still darkened room.
I took off out the front of the lodge towards the golf course and cabins. There was a light fog setting on the lake yet the water was still visible. I could se several deer milling about while sunshine dappled the grounds about me. It was breathtakingly beautiful! And for the first time in a long, long while, I could see my breath. It was chilly but crystal clear. My initial run was up the steep hill to the golf course clubhouse to scope out the facility and the surrounding landscape. It was awesome! I left the golf course and ran towards the cabins and the lodge docks where our boat was moored. I saw a large buzzard resting in a tree watching me run by. It was an easy run down the hill but not so easy on the return up. The lake had small patches of fog scattered about and the water was as calm as a sheet of glass – certainly a site to behold. My run concluded at the lodge entrance where I returned, at least temporarily, to our assigned room, #261.
It was still very dark in the room and everyone was still sleeping. I found my water bottled and grabbed my book and sat on the balcony for a few minutes reading in the chilly but lovely summer air. Jacob eventually woke and joined me on the balcony. We decided to visit the game room on the lower level. I didn’t take money. I thought everything was free. We thought we’d play ping-pong but there were no balls to be found. I guessed that you’ve got to get them from the desk. Jacob insisted on playing some of the video games, but again we had no tokens or cash. We went back to the room where I grabbed my wallet then quickly returned. Jacob blew through a couple of bucks in a hurry. He tired of the games quicker than I thought he might. Again, we returned to the room.
Mindy and Bella were finally awake. Mindy had some coffee brewing. I shared the views I saw during my run and the hiking trail I found just beyond the lodge. We agreed to eat breakfast then take a family hike. It was a bit chilly for early boating.
We left for breakfast around 9am. We visited the lodge restaurant where the menu featured a buffet. We all took part. It was very yummy. They had lots of good eats. Our bill was $24 – not too bad at all. We left the lodge and set out on our hike. Mindy asked if the kids needed tennis shoes. I though not. We found our way to the hiking trail across form the golf course entrance. Soon we were in the woods on a hillside overlooking the pristine lake, which provided some amazing views. The trail was reported to be 2 miles long and ending up at the camp grounds. Bella wasn’t to thrilled with hiking. She whined for several minutes about this and that. At some point, after seeing a large spider web, she cried about the possibility of getting stuck in a web. It was sorta funny save for the incessant bitching. We took several pit stops along the trail taking in the spectacular views of the large rock formations as well as the lake. We took lots of pictures too. At one point we took a detour down to the water where we rested on a washed up log while Jacob snacked on wild raspberries. These kids are ALWAYS hungry! We hiked up and down the trails probably going a little over a mile deep. We decided to turn around realizing how traumatic this was on Bella. Jacob, being his silly self, found a very large log about 4 inches in diameter and about 8 foot long. He joked that it was his big hiking stick, since everybody had one. I quipped that I’d give him $20 bucks if he could carry it all the way back. I was sure that he couldn’t given all the hills and rough terrain we would have to traverse.
He made sure that if he made it back that I would give him the money. I agreed. Long story short, the little shit actually managed to carry the log back to the trails beginning. As hard as it was to part with the $20, I learned something about Jacob’s resolve. He told me along the way that it was killing him but that he was determined to earn the money. Hidden there within was a good lesson, I’m sure. I was proud of his perseverance.
We returned to our room where we quickly readied for a day on the lake. It was already 12:30pm. Finally, the temperature had warmed to a reasonable temp, but still there was an uncharacteristically chilly breeze. We pulled away from the dock with little fanfare and set out to explore the southern end of the lake and to ski.
We first cruised around the damn area where Mindy skied. I was sure that she was cold. After a couple of spills we then circled back through the no-wake zone and then south to the previously unexplored waters. We quickly found the landmarks we earmarked while hiking. Eventually we found our way to the campground beach where the kids & Mindy got out and swam. We anchored there for about an hour before moving on to the main Marina. There we refuel and checked out more of the lake, including the park’s main beach. It was now about 4pm. We pulled away from the marina with Bella in the tube going at idle speed. Once we got to the ski-zone Mindy plopped in the water for some more tubing. Jacob went after it again, too, but complained of pain. He didn’t last too long at all. Eventually we bagged the tube in favor of the skis. Mindy did a nice job once again. She even crossed the wake successfully a time or two before eventually falling.
Jacob insisted on trying to ski even though I knew it would be fruitless. He never got passed getting the skies on and in the ready position. He freaked out once he realized that Mindy would not be able to stay in the water with him. He really needs smaller, lighter skis to learn on. Bella once again tubed all the way back to the dock form the ski zone going only at idle speed. She seemed to enjoy the ride. We had a very pleasant day on the lake. AS we docked and covered the boat we chatted with two different couples who were docking, too. They both shared their opinion of Salt Fork being one of the finest lakes in all of Ohio. Both had been to numerous state parks but found this the nicest, most pleasing for boating. We concurred, mostly for its character.
Back at the lodge we showered up in preparation for dinner in the lodge dining room. We must’ve got there around 7pm but were told there’d be a 20 minute wait for a table by window overlooking the lake. We agreed. To kill the time we moseyed over to the Wildlife lounge where we enjoyed a couple cold beverages. I had a Great Lakes Burning River & Mindy a glass of Shiraz. The kids enjoyed Shirley Temples all the while hitting a few pool balls around. The time passed quickly and before we knew it was time to go eat our dinner.
We were seated in a booth overlooking the lake just as we were promised, and what a breathtaking view it was. Seth, our server, was very sharp and attentive. We was very good at the up-sell. We enjoyed our dinner and dropped almost $80 with tip. Mindy was whipped so we headed back to the room where we all got ready for bed. The move Beetlejuice was just beginning. We all watched intently, this being one of my all time favorites. The kids were enjoying it, but Mindy was concerned that the kids, especially Bella, would have nightmares. She turned it off about half way through as the kids and I began to dose.
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