Late Afternoon Boat Ride

Yesterday, my uncle called me to ask if I could help him install a GPS and radio in his boat. I gladly said "Yes" and planned to leave early today to help out. Unfortunately, Susan wasn't feeling good and changed the plans on me. By early afternoon, she was feeling better, so again, the plans got another update. She packed some snacks and drinks in the cooler and we hit the road to Sanford.

When we arrived, Uncle Dave showed me his new gear. He had a new Garmin GPSMap 420 and a high-power Coast Guard approved radio. I was ready to climb in the boat, which was on the trailer in the driveway, and start looking for the perfect mounting location, but Susan was hungry and started making sandwiches. Within minutes, the thought of going out in the heat completely slipped my mind.

After lunch, Dave mentioned that it was getting late. If we wanted to go for boat ride, we'd need to leave soon. That caught me completely off guard. I thought we were going to work on the boat, not go play in it.

We jumped in the Honda and followed the boat to the marina. Shortly after leaving the subdivision, I could see something swirling around inside the boat. A second later, a white thing the size of a large grapefruit rose from the boat and started flying towards us. I slowed down, then pulled off the road to see what it was. Susan jumped out and ran back to grab it. It turned out to be a Styrofoam ball. I cannot imagine its purpose for existence.

Back on the road, we quickly caught up. A few minutes later, we arrived at the marina. After some quick maneuvering, the boat was in the water, we were on-board, and we were idling our way out into the lake. We turned to the west and headed for the I-4 bridge. We slowed for the no wake zone, passed under the bridges, passed by the power plant, and continued up river. On our way, we passed many others, enjoying the afternoon on the water. The one thing I didn't see - still - was an alligator. When we reached Marker 99, we turned around and headed back to the marina.

Back at the C&D B&B, we enjoyed a nice salad, some breaded shrimp, and baked potatoes. Andrew, Cathy, and Dave took turns drawing pictures on the tiny chef's chalkboard and trying to figure out what each were drawing. Gin stopped by to give something to Susan. We finally got on the road around 9:00.