Another Adventure Comes to a Close......

We spent Friday out on the lake again.  No strenuous activities, just floating and trying to stay cool.  And if we weren't on the water, we'd just be sitting back in our trailers as it has been WAAAAY to hot this week to spend much time outside unless it is on the water.  

And then Friday evening, we started taking down all the "stuff" we had setup outside the trailer.  How much can that be, you ask?  Well, we seem to be accumulating a lot!  Canopy with screen, table cloth, holiday decorations, lighting for the canopy, lighting "just because", dog pen and toys, ice maker, cooler, outside trash can, BIG outdoor area rug, lawn chairs, end table..... well, you get the idea!  At least we got all of it stowed.  So this morning it was a matter of buttoning things up inside (no small task either), having breakfast, dumping the RV tanks (ugh, what a process!), and getting on the road.

We took off about 9am this morning and rolled into the driveway a little before 4pm.  That is about my limit for riding in one day anymore.  

Along the way home, we discovered that vacation can be grueling..... as this pic of Gabi shows......

At one point, on the drive home today, I looked back at the girls and saw this.  Good lord, that girl is wiped out!  They both slept most of the way home and are sleeping some more even now.

We did have a bit of excitement at the end of the journey.  Earlier in the week, when we were having dinner at our trailer one evening, Colton discovered a bulge in the hydraulic lines on one of the slides.  We're thinking, "Great.  Another trip to Abilene to get that fixed."  As Max was backing the trailer into the driveway, the line burst.  We got the front jacks down and the trailer off the truck, but I can't run out the slides and therefore, can't easily unpack the trailer.  Besides, it is still 95 degrees in the dang thing! 

Fortunately, we were able to get ahold of the guys in Abilene and will hopefully get the trailer in next week to be all fixed up.

Ah the joys of owning toys!

Cheers,

Dr J

Water Skiing?? And Fireworks!

Shell Knob does a pretty good job of putting on a fireworks display for a small town. We watched them from the boat and it was awesome. There were hundreds of boats out there watching fireworks last night. This pic doesn't do it justice. The flotilla was amazing. And no, I didn't get any fireworks pics. Just can't do them justice.

Today Max decided to try his hand at waterskiing. Interesting. This is a pic when he first got in the water. Looking pretty happy and relaxed.

And here he is on his last attempt...... Almost there! But no, he didn't get up today. Wasn't as easy as when he was sixteen, I guess. Grin. Maybe tomorrow he will have better luck!

Of course, Ron is an old hand at skiing. He did great on his run!

More water fun tomorrow. If only it would dip below 100 during the dang day. Ah well.

Cheers,

Dr J

Happy Fourth! And Lake Fun

Happy Independence Day! I always think of my friend in the UK on the Fourth. When I was still working, we were coming up on a Fourth of July holiday and he kept trying to schedule a meeting with me for that day. When I reminded him that we would be on holiday over here, he said, "Oh yeah, you DO still celebrate that little fracas". Guess it all depends on one's perspective and country of origin, eh?!? Grin.

Some of you have wondered what we do all day long at the lake. Well, here's a sample from yesterday. First, here I am all suited up and ready to play.

Yesterday we took about an hour and a half to get to our destination. Did I mention that this is a HUGE lake? 'Course it also took that long because we were towing kids around on Big Mable. When you do that, it involves a lot of high speed zigzagging, donuts, and then stopping to pick up kids that have been dumped in the water.

Also along the way, we stopped at the Tablerock version of Hawaiian cliff diving. Here's Brianna as she was in mid-leap. The kids had a blast climbing and then jumping.

We motored until we crossed the border into Arkansas. We finally arrived in Beaver, AR. It is basically a wide spot in the road. But it has this beautiful old suspension bridge leading into town. Believe it or not, it is a wood plank bridge! Vehicles make quite a clatter as they cross. We anchored in the shade below the bridge and had lunch.

And then we float! It has been in the 100s here (about 15 degrees warmer than usual for this time of year), so once I got over the shock of the cold water, it felt pretty dangled good. Not a bad way to spend the day!

Cheers,

Dr J

Food and Games

If you know us at all, then you know that traveling for us when we are with the Os, is all about the food! As in.... We are planning our next meal while we are eating the current meal. Seriously. The last two nights have had some awesome food. Last night was kabobs and tonight was crock pot fajitas. Yummy. Somehow food always seems to taste better when you eat outside. Particularly if you have spent the day on the water or out shopping.

Yesterday we went to Branson and spent some serious time at the outlet mall. Then today we boated all day. I'll have pics of that tomorrow.

In the meantime, here's a pic of Jaden, Brianna, and Judy after dinner last night.

And here are Max and Judy after another delicious meal.

And then, of course, David, Ron, and Colton.....

After dinner is always a good time for a game. Colton and David take their turn at bocce ball while Brianna supervises.

Then Jaden and Keaton take their turn.

And a new game to us is Flickin' Chicken. You throw a frisbee like disk out and then try to flick your rubber chicken closest to it. You can imagine with three teenage and preteen boys in the mix, well let's just say the chickens were flying everywhere. Grin.

You can imagine that by the end of the day we are all exhausted. Unfortunately, this campground doesn't have water hookup, so we have to use the showerhouse. So when the day is over, we troop down for showers to finally wrap up the day. Ah well, it IS camping after all. At least that is what everyone reminds me of when I complain. Grin.

Cheers,

Dr J

Big Mable

The last two days have been all about the lake and being in the water. As I've posted in the past, our friends Ron and Judy O, have an awesome Cobalt boat. So we have spent the last two days out on the water.

Along with the Os, we are also camping with Ron's sister and her family. They also have a boat, so we've been zooming all over the lake. In addition to skiing, and of course, floating, the big attraction is riding on Big Mable as Cap'n Ron tows her back and forth thru the wake and waves. It is amazing what kind of air time one can get on Mable.

Here are Max, Brianna, and Judy out for a ride. Ron took it easy on them. He only tossed Brianna and Max off once. Max was grinning like a big kid the whole time. And today is Judy's birthday -- what better way to celebrate that being flung around the lake?!?!

And here are Keaton, Colton, and Jaden on Big Mable. Ron really tossed them around the lake, but they managed to stay on .... Mostly. Grin. He did manage to flip them off, quite spectacularly, once. They were grinning from ear to ear the whole time.

And finally, here is Cap'n Ron with what I like to call his "alternate hair". Grin. He is an excellent skipper.

And no, I didn't ride Mable. Seriously, did you think that I would?!?!

Cheers,

Dr J