Family Fling

Up near 8am. Enjoyed coffee and internet for about an hour before anyone else was up. Dad stopped over shortly after 9am. I didn’t leave for a run until maybe 930am. By then Mindy was up too.

We planned to have the girls and grandkids over later that afternoon. Mindy and I agreed to keep it rather simple and order pizzas instead of grilling. Before that, however, I wanted to take the boat up to the river and see how well the idle adjustment translated into performance. The plan was to take Jacob, Tyler and AJ (Tyler’s younger brother) so they could wake board. Dad & Glenn were going too.

Thinking we left the house around noon, stopping quickly at Thornton’s for a fill-up and ice. We took only drinks – no snacks. Didn’t expect to be there but maybe two hours. And just like many of the past days, a chance of scattered showers.

The dock was unusually busy when we arrived, at least by Griggs standards. It’s uncommon for there to be any wait at all. As expected, the boat started and ran much better at the dock. No stalling transitioning between forward and reverse and our idle speed ideal. Like I often do at Griggs, we headed initially towards the damn before heading north. Showed Glenn the new Columbus Boat House venue. A dark cloud moved in directly overhead and dropped a few sprinkles. But thankfully it cleared a few minutes later.

Once north of the Fishinger Rd bridge and near the stone fishing wall, we prepared to board, Jacob first. Jacob makes boarding look really easy. Gets up with little to no effort. He boarded until he could no longer hold on. There were a handful of other boats and boarders so I had to be mindful of the area we covered. Due to its relatively small size, just a couple boats on the water makes for a choppy boating experience.

Tyler was up next. We were closer to the shore than I really wanted but still at a safe distance. Tyler tried as many as ten times to get up but without success. On one occasion late in his tries he got up for a split second. I did my best to keep him motivated suggesting that he’d likely get it next time. After Tyler’s failure. AJ didn’t even want to make an attempt. The board boots were too big for him anyway. I tried getting him to give skiing a shot but he wasn’t biting on any of it. That’s fine.

Glenn eventually gave skiing a whirl, having not done so in many years. He struggled four or five times but finally got up and immediately jumped the wake back and forth until he could no longer hold on in comfort. Once everybody had their fun I suggested we head up river past the Hayden Run Rd bridge. And because another boater occupied a favorite anchoring spot of mine, we opted to continue north anther ¼-1/2 mile or so. There we finally threw anchor and let the kids get in and swim for a minute. The water was unusually cold and muddy. Lots of small debris too after the numerous downpours over the past weeks.

Time was flying by. Our family get-together that was originally slated for 3 but now moved to 5pm was approaching quickly. It was close to 330pm when we pulled anchor and headed back. There was a line for the dock, something I don’t think I’ve encountered at the river – ever. And lo and behold, one of the boats putting in was none other than neighbor Mike and son Evan.

We chatted briefly then pulled out. I asked dad to drop me at the dock then take over the helm but he refused citing lack of confidence. I found that somewhat alarming. Getting out went without a hitch. By the time we were out, the boat wiped down and covered, it was well after 4pm. Where had the time gone? I celled Mindy to let her know that we were finally on our way home. Guests would be at the house at 5pm.

We took the boat to storage so I wouldn’t have to worry about it come Monday morning or later that evening. Got to the house around 5pm. Tommy, Wally, and Courtney, Zach and their girls were already there. Apparently we forgot to pass the time change along to Tommy & Wally. He showed up near 3pm.

Mindy was grateful for Tommy’s early arrival since she doesn’t feel that comfortable around Courtney & Zach. They haven’t exactly been warm and friendly the past few years. After a quick greeting I was off to the shower. Mindy had a nice spread of snacks laid out on the island.

By the time I was back downstairs after a shower most others had arrived. And soon as I was downstairs, Mindy left to run Tyler and AJ home. Jacob went along too since he was spending the night at their house. She was gone for about half an hour. Second visit in two weeks for Courtney and family, by the way.

The snacks Mindy prepared proved more than adequate, satisfying everybody’s hunger until later when we ordered pizzas. In the meantime, Zach made it known that he was going to devour the jarlsberg spread. Man, is he loud! It must’ve been around 630pm when we ordered four extra-large pizzas from Minelli’s – 2 pepperoni, one cheese and then one extra cheese, extra pepperoni. Opted for delivery. Wasn’t long before the driver showed up, walking in on his own.

The pizza was delicious but we obviously ordered too much. We had 2+ pizzas left once everyone finished. Suspecting that might happen, I purposefully left the extra cheese, extra pepperoni on the bottom. Before anyone left, we celebrated Courtney’s 32nd birthday with cake and a card. She seemed surprised that we were celebrating, but we were just one day removed from her actual birthday.

All three of the girls left around the same time. And we sent about 2/3s of a pepperoni pizza home with Lindsey and the boys. Once Olivia saw what they were taking home she came back in asking for some too.  We also sent Courtney home with the rest of her birthday cake. In a sense, it was a breakthrough day in that Courtney and company made their second visit to our home in as many weeks. That hasn’t happened in years.

Everyone but Glenn & dad departed for home by 730-8pm. The remainder of the evening was rather low key, enjoying conversation from the deck. Monday was a work day for me, but no one else.