Thursday, September 9, 2010

We are Fam-i-ly. . .

 Sorry I was unable to post last week, but as most of you know,every Labor Day since 1997, H and I and have flown to Atlanta to join my two sisters and brother with  their spouses for a family weekend of boating with NO children allowed! For quite a few years this event took place on Lake Lanier in Georgia. About three years ago, due to a draught in Georgia, Lake Lanier almost dried up and the boat is now docked at a beautiful marina in Chattanooga on the Tennessee River.We have always had so much fun on these weekends most of which I can't put on the internet. It is a time when we all can truly be ourselves and in doing so our family bond continues to get stronger. Now, even thought our children are grown, married and some even have children of their own, it is  still a sacred weekend just for the siblings and their spouses.
Jane and her husband have hosted this event mainly because they are the only ones with a boat. Let me describe this boat. . . It is fifty-three feet long, can sleep up to ten people, it has two bathrooms (one has a tub), a fully stocked kitchen complete with a microwave/confection oven, a sub zero freezer/refrigerator, a double drawer dish washer, a full size washer and dryer in the master stateroom,
and two or three flat screen TV's  scattered throughout so no one will miss any of the college games played during the weekend.
Water Dancer III (Jane and Bill's boat)
So, here we are, having a wonderful time on the dock just enjoying everyone's company, telling all of Jane's friends about our recent move to Alabama,  our plans to build our retirement home on a beautiful lake and that we someday hope to have a boathouse and boat of our own. . .when lo and behold someone said, "I hear that a deck boat owned by Peyton Manning's wife (we are in Tennessee, after all)  is For Sale at the Marina!"  Even though H and I had talked about a pontoon boat, H's interest was peaked and he started asking questions and before I knew it, he had gone up to the marina to take a look (along with several "seasoned" boat friends). It didn't take long when H sent word to the dock that I needed to join him and take a look... and oh yeah, bring the checkbook! I must admit, this boat was in pristeen condition and had very few hours on it. There was a lot more info about the boat that H proceeded to tell me but during this entire deliberation, another buyer made an offer for full price just because it had Peyton's autograph to go with it, and so of course, it was Sold. It was probably a good thing...not sure how our new Alabama friends would feel about that boat on the lake.
Meanwhile......another boat popped up on the scene, same exact boat in even more pristeen condition plus it had less hours on it and most of it's "equiptment" had never been used for LESS than the Manning boat asking price! With all our experience boat owner friends, a deal was made and we now own a 26 ft Sea-Ray deck boat! Ta-Da!












On Lake Mitchell, there is an association which we have been paying dues to for three years. It is for Home Owners and Boat Owners on the lake called HoBo.  I guess this means we have become a Bo before a Ho!
Her maiden voyage with us as its new owners was to a little cove where we tied up over night next to the Big Boy Boats and we felt right at home and proud! (We slept on Water Dancer). We had  followed in the wake of the other boats to the cove the first day but we lead the fleet back to the dock the next day!
She may look like a Baby Boat next to all the Big Boy Boats but I can at least get up on her swim deck with a lot more dignity!!
She will remain docked in Chattanooga (3 hours away) until our boat house is built....sooner rather that later now. We plan to take her out a couple more times before colder weather sets in and hopefully Liz and Jarrett will join us!
We leave for our beloved beach next week which is now three hours away instead of eighteen, so I won't post again until we return the week of the 20th when......are you ready for this??...we may be breaking ground. Yes, we are loving life!

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