Boating, Tubing, & Bodhi

I was up just after 7am. I exercised - sit-ups and curls - then enjoyed a quick cup of coffee before heading off on my run. It had to be about 8am when I ran off. It was hot, sunny and steamy once again. I ran just three miles again, and pretty much decided that I'd do that for the rest of the week.

After my run I took care of walking the whining pug then left to get the boat. By then Mindy was up. This time I remembered to take both the Pilot and Accord keys since the boat storage key in with the Accord keys. I'm guessing that I was back at the house with the boat by 930am, but not before stopping to fill both the boat and Pilot with gas.

I pulled off the boat cover then made sure it would start/run. Yep. Started right up. Cool! I let it run for about five minutes. My next objective was to inflate the new tube and then determine if it would fit in the boat with the cover snapped down. It's a 3-man or 70" round, one heck of a lot bigger than our older tube. I read the directions carefully, inflated it, then placed it in the boat. I learned that if I left the rear pole out from under the boat cover that it would fit. For the time being, I placed the old tube on top of the BM'er.

Darwin drove by with all the kids aboard while I was busy with the boat. Once the boat was water ready, I watered the flowers front and back. While I did all that, Mindy ran to Wal-Mart to get subs and snacks for the boating outing. Once she was back we spent another 45 minutes packing coolers for Alum Creek. Finally near 1115am we were ready to depart. Just as we were pulling away Darwin came by again. This time he stopped. Just back from taking Lane in for his 12 year vaccines. We asked if Lane was interested in joining us. He was. We followed them to their house while Lane went after his swim trunks. Off to Alum Creek!

It was a smooth drive around 270 to route 23 north. Arrived t Alum Creek near 12 noon. The marina docks were surprisingly void of any others - just the way we like it. We took our time prepping the boat for launch. Since my last visit they've completely redone the boat launch and docks. Very nice! Looks like teak wood. Much more efficient put-in lanes too. Noticed someone's nice bimini top lying in the parking lot as if they forgot it. Thought about picking it up but didn't. The plan all along was to meet Tommy and Wally at the dock. They were at Broad and 270 just as we were pulling in to the marina. We figured to launch and take a quick cruise before returning to get them.

No sooner had we got passed the no-wake buoys Tommy phoned to let us know that they were at the marina. We returned to the courtesy dock to pick them up. We took a quick cruise around the southern half of the lake then stopped to let the kids tube. Jacob, Bella, and Lane tubed together. They tubed for about an hour or so before we opted to pass under the Cheshire bridge to the north lake and ultimately the boat swim area. Tommy mentioned the swim cove possibly being moved, but it wasn't. Still there.

We were one of only two or three watercraft in the cover for most of the early afternoon. That is in stark contrast to the weekend when there can be 40-50 boats back there. The kids swam, jumped and played on the tube. Unfortunately, Wally wouldn't get in for nothing. He wouldn't tube or swim. The subs Mindy brought from Wal-Mart hit the spot. She brought three of them, and had them cut into small hand-sized portions. Meanwhile, it was hot and sunny. I'll bet it was 95 degrees. We hung out in the cove until 3pm or so when we headed back out to the lake for more tubbing and skiing. I let Tommy drive for about an hour, choosing to enjoy the ride from the open bow. The kids had more fun tubbing, this time being a bit more daring than they were earlier.

Once everybody had all the tubing they could take we deflated it and got out the skis. Can't recall who went first, Mindy, Tommy, or Lane. But Mindy was the only one who got up. Lane tried only once before giving up. Had the water been calmer I am certain he could've done it. For some reason, Tommy struggled. We cruised around the lake a while longer but then headed back to the dock. It was near 515pm. But by the time we were out of the water, had the boat cleaned and our gear stowed, it was after 6pm. Arrived home after 630pm. Dropped Lane at his place.

We made plans to boat again on Thursday. Ashley & Olivia would likely be joining us. We learned earlier in the day that she was off work all week on vacation. We also talked about taking the boys too. We all took showers then headed off to CBC for dinner. I'm thinking it was 730-8pm when we arrived. We opted for a table on the patio, a seating arrangement we hadn't enjoyed for more than 3 years. In fact, we sat out there only once before with Tommy and Courtney, the same night that we met Stella.

Robin was our server. Both kids ordered wings. Not sure what Mindy ordered. I ordered the Cuban burrito along with a Bodhi. And unless I am mistaken, I think I had only the one. It was near dark as we headed for home. We took up refuge on the deck after changing into more comfy attire. I enjoyed a couple more beers too.