cruisin'

He finally got his boat ride today. I didn't think it was going to happen. We had more boat issues, which makes me think hard about all those times we spent at the lake when I was in high school, just waiting for the boat to finally crank so we could go out and cruise the water. Miserable days, especially when it wouldn't crank up! David had the Ski Nautique's guts exposed, checking tubing for a blockage (which he found) after replacing the thermostat and impeller in the hopes of stopping the overheating problem. Maybe this time we got it, but when it was time to check it out, he didn't have enough juice in the battery to crank it again, and he flooded the engine (imagine a 1970's giant ford v-8 engine--that's what we have). I thought I'd take out the SeaDoo, but I forgot to take my driver's license, and when I came back to get it, the battery on it wouldn't crank it back up. I swam it back into the boat house and muttered dark comments about selling every piece of marine equipment we own, and when I got out of the water, I noticed that the top on the pontoon boat was BROKEN! Guess bad boat crap happens in threes. Meanwhile, Dennis had been saying boat and wanting to ride all weekend, and twice when Jason came by in his boat, Dennis was napping. He finally got his ride right before dinner, and he loved it. He didn't even fuss about his sunglasses for most of the ride, realizing that they kept the sun and wind out of his eyes. He drove the boat a little bit, and he climbed up and down David and me. He gazed out the back of the boat at our wake and looked around at all the houses. Many times we heard him say "wheeeee". We think he had a great time, but he was fussy by the end of the ride, and when we pulled into the marina to gas up, David decided to walk him back to the house. When Jason and I docked the boat and got inside, Dennis was sitting at the table and digging in to a plate of steak, peas, potatoes, and peaches. He wasn't fussy anymore at this point! Neither were we, actually. It was a DELICIOUS dinner, cooked by Gran and Pop, and then David and I cleaned up while they got to go for a boat ride. It turned out to be a pretty great day, after all.