African Detour

I was up at 745am feeling a little rough after putting down 4 beers and a couple shots of Jack Daniels with Glenn and Darwin the night before. I didn’t get to bed until 3am or after. More than anything, I felt sleep deprived.

I was supposed to be on vacation all day Friday but a hot work issue kept me plugged in late into the evening Thursday and again Friday morning. I skipped calisthenics but certainly not my run. I headed out around 845am running 3 miles in sunny, warm and humid conditions. I felt a lot better after my run.

The plan all along was to take the boat up to Alum Creek. While waiting on the others to wake up, I fetched the tube from the basement. Once Mindy was up she convinced me that it made more sense to go get the boat, gas it up, and bring it back home first. And considering that we’d have a full vehicle, that’s the only plan that would work.

I went after the boat around 10am, gone only about 25 minutes. Took only three gallons of gas since our last river outing was spent mostly anchored and floating. Mindy made sandwiches for our outing the night before. She packed a cooler while I got the boat ready. I filled the double tube with air and then packed the bearing buddies with marine grease.

Got a text from brother Bobby near 1030 sharing that the docks at the marina were closed. He used the Africa Rd put-in, and even that one was a challenge since most of the dock was under water. Dad was with him too. Thinking it was after 1130am by the time we left the house for the lake.

Mindy suggested we take I-71 to the Polaris exit in lieu of Rt 23 north where they’re doing significant construction on the 270 ramps that has traffic a total mess. Good plan, especially given that we were using the Africa Rd put-in. Unfortunately and unbeknownst to any of us, Africa Rd was closed heading north just below the dam. Dammit! We had to go west on Lewis Center Rd to Old State then north to Cheshire Rd then across the lake back to Africa Rd.

Pulling in the Africa Rd put-in I hit a pot hole that made the boat bounce enough that I later learned snapped our brand new trailer strap. Dang it! Brother Bob was right. The docks were more than half submerged making the put-in that much more difficult. We pretty much avoided the docks and instead simply backed in with Mindy at already at the helm with plans to move to the courtesy dock once in the water. That was a good plan other than the fact that the boat was slow to start and stay running. I had to jumped aboard to get it started and then navigate away from the submerged docks over to the courtesy dock, which was half underwater too.

With the boat’s poor idle speed it was a challenge but I managed. Unfortunately not without what I thought was an underwater strike of something. I was worried about the prop and lower unit. Turned out being nothing – no damage. Dad later said he thinks it was the metal dock itself creaking and bumping. Maybe.

Had to walk through 2-3 feet of water to get to the courtesy dock after parking the trailer. Just as we pulled away from the put-in brother Bob and dad pulled up. They had been there since 1030am. It was already 1230pm. I shared our dock drama then the fact that I wanted to run the boat to make sure it was functioning well. And it ran well once we opened her up.

Satisfied with the boats performance, I declared it time to tube. The kids wanted to tube together. We stayed exclusively on the north end of the lake ( north of the Cheshire Rd bridge. Just a couple other boats nearby. Bob and dad stayed near center lake in Bob’s pontoon. Watching us drag the kids around. Eventually put the tube on Bob’s boat so Jacob could wake board. That went well too. After an hour or so the consensus was to head over to the boat swim cove just south of router 36/37. Quite a few boats for a Friday – about ten or so. We anchored near the back of the cove and Bob pulled up alongside us where we sandwiched a couple bumpers between us.

Bob came without any of the kids. A little surprised. I guess they all had something going on. We hung out in the swim cove for a couple hours visiting. Sadly, haven’t seen Bobby in a year and one half, or at the El Vaquero Xmas gathering 2012.

The sun was hot but the water surprisingly cold. The cove is usually very warm, but with the water up a couple feet I suppose the colder than usual water was due to excessive run-off. Pulled out of the cove near 4pm pulling Bella behind on the tube. Once on the open lake I drug Bella around for 20-25 minutes. Later, before we left, Jacob & Bella double tubed again. Mindy was antsy, wanting to be at nephew Joe’s birthday party in Clintonville by 6pm if at all possible.

We pulled out of the lake near 5pm to a busy dock. Of course I had to rig the boat strap by tying it through the hook eyelet. Not too much drama pulling it out. By the way, I inspected the lower unit while in the cove. No damage to it or the prop. I felt a lot better about it. And after pulling out of the water that was confirmed. So the only damage from the day’s outing was the snapped trailer strap, which I’m guessing was due mostly to the boat not being all the way forward in the trailer pocket. That happens often when trailering at Griggs with their extra steep ramps. The boat will be in the pocket at the dock but by the time the boat sits down on the trailer when pulling out it slips back a couple inches.

We always take the time to put the boat away clean, which requires a manual and rigorous wipe down with a damp beach towel. By the time we had it under cover and were ready to roll, it was 530pm. We opted to take 36/37 to 71S hopefully avoiding the Polaris traffic jam. That was another good suggestion from Mindy. We had to pull off 71 to fasten a couple snaps that either came loose or that we failed to fasten before leaving the put-in. Opted to take the boat home rather than taking it to storage. That would save us time getting ready for Joe’s party and allow me to tinker with the boats idle adjustment possibly on Saturday.

Home near 6pm. Mindy and the others hurried through showers while I checked in on work and then watered all the thirsty deck plants. Everybody was showered and ready by 635pm. Mindy was verbally agitated by the fact that we were late. I guess that makes up for us being 2 hours early to the Memorial Day gig at Todd & Missy’s.  We arrived at Joe & Rick’s place in Clintonville near 7pm.

Better late than never. Rick was just finishing up the grillin’. Actually ran out of propane. Introduced Glenn to some of the family, most of which he’d met before but that was back in 2007. Wow, hard to believe that it’s been 7 years. Asked Rick for a brief home tour. Small but nice. Enjoyed a burger and a few sides.

Enjoyed some banter with brother-in-law Larry’s brother Terry as well as others. Also talked with Gary, the actual owner of the Clintonville home. Very nice landscaping and pond. Hung at Joe’s until about 930pm. About the time we left for home I was getting gnawed on by mosquitoes which only exacerbated the itch from my poison ivy. I couldn’t wait to get in the Pilot and wipe down my arms with rubbing alcohol. Ahh!

Got home near 945pm. Dad was sitting in his van out front of the house awaiting our return. The CFD was at the home of a distant neighbor. With our curiosity getting the best of us, we drove nearby to get a feel for the event that precipitated their arrival. Saw them wheeling in a gurney. Sad.

At home we hung out with Dad enjoying more of Mindy’s butterscotch pie. I cracked another beer or two as well. Dad didn’t’ stay too late. Guessing he left around 1030pm. The rest of us were off to bed by 11pm. After a late one Thursday night, we all needed a good night’s sleep.