Tuesday and Wednesday were very rainy days. We stayed inside most of Tuesday, napping and reading while it rained on and off. It was hard to even see across the lake for all the rain and fog. After dinner, Alex taught me how to play Monopoly (as I have never really played the correct way) and then I beat him pretty badly. Not really, we both got pretty tired after a few hours and decided to call it a night.
The next day started out much nicer. Larry got his boat out of the garage and we started cleaning it off. (It was COVERED it bat poop.) Alex was almost attacked by a bat as we were pulling the boat out of the garage. That statement isn’t entirely true but he told me I had to include it. Larry bumped the bat house coming out of the garage and two flew out, one very close to Alex.
But once we started scrubbing down the boat, it started to rain. Larry had gone next door to help paint but as that is not much of a rainy-day activity, he quickly joined us back inside. Then we started up another game of Monopoly. Larry went bankrupt, followed by Spencer but both tried to keep me strong against Alex before folding; it didn’t work. Alex accredits his wise business dealings to his vast marketing and business education.
After our game, Alex and I finished scrubbing down the boat and got ready to head across the island to Richard’s Landing, where we had found a good place to go out for dinner. We only got a little lost and Karen the GPS helped us out. We made it to The Lighthouse Grill and enjoyed a great meal outside right on the water. Alex had the special: grilled whitefish in a blueberry sauce with corn. I had a roasted garlic burger with fries. Covered with caramelized onions, roasted red peppers and melted mozzarella cheese, it was definitely the best burger I have had in a while.
Stuffed beyond comfort, we walked around a little to look at the lighthouse, the boats and the rest of Richard’s Landing. It’s a bit bigger than Hilton but not much. It has a small hospital and school, and we got dessert at the Village Ice Cream before finding our way back.
Again, we got only a bit lost on the way home (I think Karen has some trouble with Canadian roads) and found ourselves too tired for much more that evening.
Thursday was the day for boating! We had gorgeous weather all the way through. First we had to find a way to build a mooring for when we brought the boat back. Alex and Larry lifted heavy chains and concrete to drag to the perfect spot offshore. I supervised. Once that was settled we drove the boat to the marina and had a flawless launch. We topped off the gas tank and took her out to sea…or lake!
First we met up with some friends at Whiskey Rock, which is just a giant rock that’s great for jumping. I didn’t have enough courage to jump off the highest point, but Alex did. I jumped off a lower rock after a lot of peer pressure from everyone there.
After a few hours at Whiskey, Larry took us farther along to a friend of his that has his very own island! It was a large house on a rocky island just big enough for the house, a dock and a back porch overlooking the gorgeous water and the rest of St. Joe’s. We sat there visiting for a while during which time my pink shoulders turned red.
The trip back was when things really got interesting. The boat was giving us a little trouble, but we chalked it up to old gas. But as we got closer and closer to the dock, the boat was slowing down. Then we noticed the back of the boat had some water in it. We made it to shore safely but then we had to figure out just what to do next. We tried to drag it ashore until we could figure out how to fix it. However, that was much more difficult than we thought. We stabilized it enough to go get Larry’s truck and trailer from the marina.
I stayed at the cabin when Alex and Larry went back to fix it. I wish I had gone with them to witness how easily the boat was fixed. It was a simply a problem with the plug being loose and the guys easily had the boat back up and running instead of slowly sinking.
We cleaned up and headed next door for dinner with the Frieses (Alex’s great uncle, cousins and their friends). Jono, his cousin, is a professional chef and made us a delectable meal which we enjoyed with some red wine. Spencer made a sweet raspberry crisp for dessert.
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