Houseboating 101

Good Wednesday AFTERNOON!

I have a few more Gallery Pics from our Houseboating Adventure today.

ANNOUNCEMENT! ANNOUNCEMENT! ANNOUNCEMENT! - Since this week has been so CRAZY, I'm going to post Wednesday Wisdom and Seasonal Traditions Saturday morning. That way, we won't be too behind.

Also, I will have to say yesterday and today have been incredibly busy. That is why the posts have been so late. I hope to have a morning post tomorrow... but I am NOT promising!

Day Two - Houseboating on Lake Lanier

1. We rented a jet ski from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Wednesday (our second day on the lake). The rental of the jet ski was "extra." At least one of the Faulkner Five stayed on the jet ski every minute of the eight hours we had it. However, when we go back next year, I think we'll rent it for a half day our second day and a half day our third day. If Mikie and I hadn't taken the last 90 minutes of the rental time, it would have been wasted. Eight hours of solid jet skiing wears five bodies out!

2. Although only one of us had every driven a jet ski before, it was beyond easy... even for me. You had to be 21 years-old to drive the jet ski OUT of the marina, but only 16 years-old to drive it around the lake. Since you also had to be 21 to drive the houseboat, Mikie had to stay on the boat, and Austin and I went to pick up the jet ski. It was amazing how fast I picked it up, I tell you. And if Austin tells you he has whiplash... Well, he's just a big fat liar!

3. Since the lake is SO big and none of us were familiar with the water, Mikie and I made a rule for the person or persons on the jet ski to NOT go behind any islands. In theory, that should have been enough of a rule to keep everyone in our sight while they were out for their turn. However, after five minutes went by without sight nor sound from Josh, I began to have a "mother come-apart."

"Go find him," I instructed the Cap'n.

"Belinda. I don't need to move the boat, AND he could be four miles away from us by now. I would never be able to find him using the houseboat." Fun fact for you... Houseboats are S-L-O-W!

In the real world, Mikie was correct. In "Hysterical Mother" world, not so much. However, we decided to wait. And we waited... and we waited... and we waited. I felt sure we waited for 23 minutes, but Mikie insisted it was more like 90 seconds. Josh had followed the rules and not gone behind any islands. However, because of the massive size of the lake, just going straight out from the houseboat at 45 mph made him just a spot on the horizon in less than 30 seconds.

Since tragedy had been averted, we made a new rule. Whoever rode the jet ski had to be able to see US. The Mister Twain. Houseboat Number 8. After that rule was established and set in stone, we had a good ol' time.

4. On our second day, I planned on all of us going into town for dinner and a movie. Although Lake Lanier is 39 minutes north of Atlanta, it is only 15 minutes from downtown Gainesville. Our only prerequisite for a vacation meal was something "local." When we asked our "houseboat boy," Zac, if he had any suggestions, he quickly said, "O'Charleys. I LOVE O'Charleys." We smiled and nodded politely, but we did NOT go to his chain restaurant suggestion.

5. We did go to a local pizza joint in Gainesville called Atlas. It was small, fun and really, really good. While we waited on our pizzas and calzones, we played darts and shot pool. The service was great. The atmosphere was fun. The food was delicious. Although the restaurant served alcohol, it didn't have a bar or loud music, and there were several families there with small children. It was a nice family joint. (And we took home LOTS of leftovers.)

6. We also asked our "houseboat boy," Zac, about the movie theater in Gainesville. He described it as a little "shady." He said there was a much better movie theater in Dawsonville which was over 30 minutes away. We didn't want to go 30 minutes away. And since we are regulars at the Dollar Theater across town, we knew the Gainesville Theater couldn't be any "shadier" than the one we always attend.

Imagine our surprise and delight when we walked into a huge, nice, clean and very "un-shady" theater in Gainesville. We later learned Zac had a brother who installed home theaters. He was accustomed to the best of the best when it came to movie-going... in his very own home! He might have been a little prejudiced.

7. We docked the boat at the pier, and since we knew we would be so late coming in from town, we told the rental people we would just sleep at the dock the second night. That worked out great because we hooked up to their power and water (meaning we didn't use any of the gas for our generator OR clean water out of our tanks). We saved a little money the second night!

8. We discovered there was much more movement when the boat was docked at the pier than beached on an island. Enough movement to rock us back and forth, back and forth, until we were sleeping like babies.

9. At 9:00 a.m. the next morning, our "houseboat boy," Zac, returned to take us out of the marina, and we began our third and final full day on the water.

10. Fun fact for you... Although the people "teach" you how to drive and beach the houseboat, they do not let you bring it in OR out of the marina. Trained staff takes care of that little task for you.

In fact, if you get within a certain distance from the port, a little motorboat comes out to the houseboat. A "houseboat boy" hops off and tries to take you back to the dock. It doesn't matter if you're swimming or fishing or just reading a book. If the back door ain't locked, a young man in a Hawaiian shirt will come in and try to take over your boat.

We learned that the hard way.

I'll have another Top Ten List tomorrow. I know you can hardly wait.

I hope you had a great Wednesday. I had an appointment this morning, and then went to Roxie's Volleyball Camp... which ended with a Volleyball Tournament... which resulted in the Junior Varsity girls being named CHAMPIONS! That's right.

So after we left the tournament, we went to eat lunch with some other chicks, and I got in around 4:00 p.m. Long, but productive day.

Take care, and I'll be back in the morning. (I'm not going anywhere!)

Sincerely,

The Enchanting and Ever-So-Late Belinda