Monday was the perfect kickoff for summer – a dress rehearsal for every warm-weather activity that’s bound to follow.
I started the day with an early-morning trip to the grocery store for picnic supplies. After I thoroughly scrubbed out the cooler (it was disgusting after a winter in the basement), I packed it with ice, soft drinks, Guinness pub draft cans, deli meat and cheese, grapes and carrot sticks. Then I stuffed a grocery sack with bread, potato chips, peanuts, sunscreen, beach towels, and my cell phone.
Two other couples met us at our house around 10:30 a.m. and we drove to a lake about 45 minutes away. There we rented a pontoon boat, loaded all our various coolers, bags and boxes (we could have survived on a desert island for a month with the stuff we all brought) and headed out on the water. The weather was nice, but not quite summery – about 70 degrees Fahrenheit and windy. I slathered myself with heavy-duty sunscreen because I am far too pale to entertain any notions of tanning. I wore a summer top, some nylon swim shorts and a pair of sandals. Fortunately, I also brought a cotton blouse which came in handy for warmth, especially early on. My husband wore a polo shirt and jeans because he is not a boat person. He never learned how to swim, and I realized that this was the first time we’d ever been on a boat together.
We began with a brief cruise around the lake. The water was rather choppy, so we could not escape a certain amount of water splashing into the boat. We dropped anchor in a cove and everyone fixed sandwiches and ate fried chicken. As we ate and chatted, we kept an eye on two separate banks of clouds that were looming on the other side of the lake. We couldn’t tell how far away the clouds were, but they were obviously producing rain. After everyone finished eating we decided to see more of the lake. By then, the wind had picked up and the waves in the lake were getting bigger and bigger. All forward movement caused huge water splashes to douse the passengers, and I wrapped myself in my beach towel to stay as warm and dry as possible. After a few bathroom stops (there were quite a few restrooms dotted around the lakeshore) and additional lake cruises, we noticed that one of the storms was getting nearer, so we began to try to move away.
One storm passed us by completely, but we weren’t so lucky with the second one. The wind picked up and we struggled to get the canvas top raised over the boat so we wouldn’t get soaked when the rain began. We made our way under a bridge and tied the boat to a rope that was hanging down from above. That’s when the storm hit. All six of us dove under our beach towels as hard rain started to pummel the boat. I looked up and saw eight or ten boats and Sea-Doos making a beeline for the shelter of the bridge. That’s when the rope broke. In the midst of the pounding rain, we began to drift swiftly toward a huge, concrete bridge pillar. Our “captain” ducked out from under his beach towel to start the engine and keep us from being rammed into the bridge. Then, just like that, the storm ended.
As soon as the storm passed, the sun came out, the temperature rose about 10 degrees, and it turned into a gorgeous summer day. By then the rental term for the boat was almost over, but we had time to dry our clothes and hair and enjoy a bit of solar warmth. I think I got a little sunburn on my legs and a few bug bites, but otherwise I made it through the day unscathed. As we drove back home, it was tempting to take a nap in the van. I succumbed to the temptation once we got home, and slept for three hours. This wasn’t the productive weekend I’d planned for, but I think it was worth it.
Leave a Reply