Good Friday morning!
I'm finishing the week with two more pics from our Houseboating Adventure in the Gallery. As always, explanations are under the photos.
REMINDER! REMINDER! REMINDER! - Please remember I will be posting this Saturday AND Sunday. This is an unprecedented event! Wednesday Wisdom and Seasonal Traditions will be posted this SATURDAY, JULY 30. Blog Linkage and Dates will be posted this SUNDAY, JULY 31. After this weekend, A Simple Life will be back on schedule which, for some reason, is VERY important to me.
ANOTHER REMINDER! ANOTHER REMINDER! - I will be posting a new Picture of the Day today, Saturday and Sunday. This year is almost finished! Can I do it? I think I can. I think I can.
Day Four - Housboating on Lake Lanier (Pros and Cons)
Okay. To finish our week of houseboating posts, I'm going to list the pros and cons, prices and websites, etc., etc. Are you ready? Have you got a pen and paper handy? Okay. Here we go.
Pros
1. Our experience was TOTALLY relaxing. I used the word "adventure" a good deal throughout the posts, but this vacation was anything but exciting. And that was okay. If your family enjoys water activities, fishing, picnics, late night movies, etc., this is the vacation for you.
2. Although we intend to go to Lake Lanier again next year, there are MANY lakes with houseboating opportunities. The websites are below. The possibilities are endless. You could go to a different lake every year if you wanted to explore.
3. Port Royale at Lake Lanier was brand-spanking new and beautifully designed. The staff was young (college-aged), but well-trained, courteous and polite. We couldn't have asked for better staff to answer our questions and help us on our first houseboating outing.
4. Although the houseboats were older, they were SUPER clean. Port Royale had bought the houseboats two months prior, and they are planning on completely re-doing the interiors this winter. Next summer, we expect the houseboats to be SUPER clean and much more updated.
5. We loved we were only 12 minutes from a town. We turned right on the main road and drove right into Gainesville. We didn't get lost. We didn't get confused. It was a very easy drive.
6. We loved we had cell service anywhere on the lake or on the shore when we beached the boat. We could call anyone at anytime or vice versa. We never felt isolated from family or the Port if we needed to ask a question.
7. We packed ALL of our clothes (for five people) in one large suitcase. We lived out of the one suitcase.
We packed four food boxes and one large cooler. We went home with two food boxes and one almost empty cooler.
We packed two toiletry boxes which we placed on the bathroom floor. When someone was finished using something (deodorant, toothpaste, hair dryer, etc.), they just placed it back into the box. On the last day, we put lids on the two toiletry boxes and they were ready to go.
8. No one ever said they were bored on the trip. I think if we had stayed longer, we might have encountered that word from at least one of our kiddos. Mikie and I both agreed going into town one night for dinner and a movie kept things interesting, too. It was a nice little break.
Cons
1. Although our houseboat "slept ten," we all agreed ten people would have been pushing the limit as far as "moving around" space was concerned.
2. In my mind, our kids were the perfect age for the houseboat. I would have been nervous taking young children on the water for that length of time and keeping up with them... especially during the night. Although the doors had locks, they were easy to open.
3. If you are a camper, the close quarters and the RV toilets will not be a problem for you. If you have never camped and never used an RV toilet, I suggest you try both before going out on the water for several days in a houseboat.
4. While a three-night, four-day stay may not seem like a very long vacation, we all agreed it was the perfect amount of time for our family. Every family is different. You might need a little less time, or you might do well with a little more time. It's your call.
Cost
This vacation was a little more expensive than we usually take for the amount of time. Depending on the size of the houseboat you rent and where you rent from, the prices will vary.
Also, gas is not included in the price of the rental. Gas in Georgia for the houseboat AND the jet ski was over $4 a gallon. The price could be lower or higher next summer. Who knows.
We used less than a half a tank of gas during our stay. We used a tank and a half on the jet ski for the one-day rental.
Since two out of three of our kids are working, we let them all help with the jet ski rental. We think it is good for them to know how much "life" costs... and the best way to teach that lesson is to let them pay for things now and again. It really makes them appreciate things more. (Kind of like chore lists!)
Websites
I went to www.houseboating.org and used their website information to book our trip to Lake Lanier. There may be similar or better websites, but this one worked great for our first experience.
To specifically check out Port Royale at Lake Lanier, go to www.bestinboating.com and click on Port Royale.
Questions and Answers
Question - When you say you had a "perfect" vacation, do you really mean "perfect?"
Answer - Mikie is 50. Austin is 20. Josh is 17, and Roxie is 14. I am a 49 year-old menopausal nightmare. When I use the word "perfect," I mean we did not ONCE try to kill one another. We're a family like any other. We had a few skirmishes, but for the most part, we did very well in our close quarters.
Question - You keep saying "RV toilet." What does that mean?
Answer - The toilet is regular-sized. However, you have to use the toilet paper the houseboat provides (1-ply), and you have to add water before you flush. (We used a plastic coffee cup to pour water into the toilet prior to flushing.) It is not gross or dirty or too little. You just have to do a little more work flushing than you would your normal household toilet.
Question - You never mentioned a dishwasher.
Answer - That's because we didn't have a dishwasher. Unless you call Mikie a dishwasher... and I wouldn't recommend doing that to his face.
Question - Is there comfortable seating for four or five adults to sit down and watch a movie together?
Answer - The couch seats three comfortably. There were two padded bar chairs and plenty of white plastic "outside" chairs. We were comfortable, and we took turns sitting in the bar chairs and the "outside" chairs.
Question - You said there wasn't a lot of water pressure. Did your hair look bad?
Answer - The one time I actually fixed my hair, it looked fine. Am I one of those people who doesn't care about water pressure? No. I LOVE water pressure, but the lack thereof didn't present a problem.
Question - Would you recommend vacationing with another family on the houseboat?
Answer - I would recommend vacationing with another family if they RENTED their own houseboat. That would be so much fun!
If you have any other questions regarding the above, feel free to drop me an e-mail, or try to leave a Comment if you have Google Account.
Weekend Happenings
We have a crazy, "nothing special" kind of weekend ahead of us. Anything could happen... and probably will.
Roxie is going to a church painting party tonight, so we'll have a new masterpiece hanging in our home tomorrow.
The guys have cut grass ALL week, so their weekend does not include any kind of yard work. They are thrilled... as they put on their "Johnny Cash-type" uniforms to go to work at the Chick.
I'm hoping Sunday is a family dinner kind of day. We'll see. We'll see.
I hope you and yours have a fun summer weekend. It is hard to believe summer is almost over. Make these last few days count!
Take care, and I'll talk to you TOMORROW.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
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