4th of July Weekend

We started our weekend on Thursday afternoon by meeting Matt and Kelley at the Nau-ti-gal restaurant for live music, great food and maybe a couple of beverages. They had a really fun two man band playing oldies which started our weekend just right. The kids picked up their two dogs and we hopped aboard the O'Day for some sailing and fireworks.

We motored out just as the sun was setting and made it to the main lake just in time to sail directly at a fireworks display. We sailed across the lake watching the show which was awesome. The night sailing was beautiful, so we decided to sail for a while before finding a spot to anchor. There were only three or four other sets of boat lights that were still on the water. About midnight we thought we heard some guys shouting, but we figured some kids were just partying on Picnic Point which was up wind of us. We continued to sail for a few minutes and then decided we better at least sail in the direction of the voices to make sure nothing was wrong. As we sailed toward Picnic Point the silhouette of a power boat came into view and the boys were laughing and shouting for help. They had run out of gas and need a tow. They wanted us to tow them back to their slip which was about 4 1/2 miles away, but with just a little 9.9 HP outboard we offered to tow them over to the Memorial Union piers which were about a mile away. They were happy with that and our little Johnson putt-putted them safely to the piers and some awaiting friends. We sailed back to Picnic Point and finally set the anchor about 1 a.m.

Friday the kids swam the dogs ashore for a potty break and then had a simple breakfast on board. One of Mike's co-workers came by to pick Mike and Matt up for a fishing lesson. The ladies read and napped while the boys learned a few fishing tricks from a true fisherman. We sailed over to the Memorial Union for live music and food. A pitcher of beer or two may have been involved. Another co-worker of Mikes arranged to meet us at the slip later to watch the fireworks from our sailboat. We ended up with Mike's mom, Matt, Kelley, Michelle, Dan, Brenda and Mike all aboard for the fireworks. We met our friends the Domasks at the slip to motor over to a good viewing spot for the Maple Bluff fireworks display. The fireworks were good, but the show had several issues such as long delays, fireworks going off too close to the ground and an abrupt ending without a grande finale. Oh well, it was still pretty and fun. The wind came up enough to sail slowly back to the pier, so we set the sails and glided across the water. The local fireworks going off all around the lake combined with the always spectacular night view of the Capitol Building made it a special night for everyone. Mike's mom had never sailed (she needed two Dramamine pills) with us and really enjoyed the magic of night sailing.

Matt and one of his catches

Kelley, Matt, Mike

We (Brenda and Mike) sailed over to Picnic Point again to anchor up for the night. It was well after midnight when we got to bed. We are too old for these late nights. Here is a picture of the gorgeous sunrise we were treated to the next morning.

We slept in and then went out sailing in the strong winds that had come up mid-morning. It was some challenging sailing which is fun for a while, but eventually it becomes tiring. We sailed back over to the Union for a break, which turned out to be a long one. We relaxed on the boat, listened to music, napped, and watched the fire trucks and ambulances deal with a couple of issues along the shore. One drunk pulled from the water and one really drunk lady who fell back into her power boat just 100 feet from us. One severe hangover and one broken ankle were the damages for the day.

Memorial Union

 

We walked up to State Street for supper which is always interesting. We try to sample a new restaurant each time we go there and we still haven't been to them all. This time we sat outside at a new spot called 608. The food was really tasty and the outside seating treated us to non-stop people watching. Anyone who has ever spent time on State Street will tell you that people watching there is great entertainment.

We walked back to our slip and pulled out our lawn chairs, blankets and Muscato wine to listen to the next live band and view more fireworks around the lake. This sailing is a tough business. Since Brenda was falling asleep we motored out to an anchorage and fell asleep immediately. Another rough day in a sailor's life?

Sunday we tried to sail, but the winds just didn't want to come out and play. It started to drizzle a little rain on us, so we decided it was time to pack it in. The ol' Johnson revved up and we motored back to our slip in the channel. We cleaned up some of the mess on and in the boat from the busy weekend and then packed up a few items to take home.

 

Another awesome weekend of friends, family, music, food, fireworks and sailing. We can't ask for more than that.

 

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