In the early 1980’s my parents upgraded from the pontoon boat to a 42 ft. houseboat. Seems another couple, whose boat was moored at the marina my parents used, had fallen on hard times. The gentleman had had a series of strokes, and was unable to care for the boat anymore. Because of this, and because of their friendship, my parents got the houseboat for a really, really, I mean really good price.
This was a huge change for Mom and Dad, as heretofore they had been captaining a small (18 ft.) pontoon boat, and would now be in charge of a virtual behemoth. The houseboat had the capacity to sleep eight people very comfortably. The galley had a full size refrigerator, large sinks, a stove, microwave oven, and even a dishwasher. All the interior wood was teak, and there was a lot of wood in that boat’s interior. A lot of wood that had been neglected. Dad spent many hours cleaning, refinishing, and oiling the wood to a beautiful, warm, glow.
The upper deck was large enough for a table, chairs, and bbq pit. Those items were usually left on the dock if the boat was taken out for a cruise. It was a beautiful boat, but the first thing Dad always wanted to show everyone was the “twin 440 h.p. Chrysler engines that power this baby”. He’d open the hatches, point to various spinning/pumping/hot things and speak in a language I didn’t begin to understand – engine – waxing all poetic and such. I swear I saw him get all misty-eyed on more than one occasion.
Cruising on the Mississippi River is challenging. The current can be extremely swift, and water levels (high or low) greatly increase the risks of hazards to be avoided. This, coupled with the fact that although she’d been boating for over a decade my mother was still pretty frightened of the water, was the reason that while they spent nearly every weekend on the boat, said boat rarely left the slip.
One 4th of July weekend, my husband and I took our three little ones to visit my parents. On the itinerary was a trip to the boat, and perhaps, an actual cruise up the river to one of the many islands where we could tie off on the beach and then swim, play ball, etc. with other boaters. If you’ve ever been owner of a large boat, you know that taking it out involves much more than untying, putting the key in the ignition, firing up the engine, and taking off. Oh, no…it’s much, much more involved than that, and involves the aforementioned “engine speak”.
What it meant, for the kids, was that we were not leaving the marina right away. Since they were 6, 4, and 3 yrs. of age, we had to find some way to occupy their time while we waited for the boat to be readied. My husband, the fisherman, decided this was a great time to teach them the fine art of blue gill fishing. We have a picture of all three of them lined up on the shore holding their little fishing poles and patiently waiting a catch. When the 3 yr. old caught his first fish ever, his dad asked him how he did it. Looking very serious, he shrugged and said, “I just felt a pull and pulled up!” This experience has led to a lifelong obsession this young man has with fishing.
Finally, the time came to take off for our cruise! In a large enough boat, as this one was, you don’t really feel the movement through the water as you go along. This sensation is one I liken to floating, and it is very peaceful. On the outbound voyage we were going against the current. This was only noticeable, topside, as you looked over the side of the boat or if an object could be spotted floating by.
However, ever the adventurers, my husband and I inflated some large tubes, tied them to the cleats on the stern, and jumped in the water. The immediate sensation of being dragged under is…..well, it’s pretty scary! We held fast to the ropes, and worked our way out to the tubes. Thank goodness we’d had the sense to put our lifejackets on! One slip, and bye-bye boat! Once inside the tubes, that strange ‘pushme-pullyou’ feeling was further enhanced. The river’s current wanting you to go that way, and the boat insisting you go this way. It was really weird, but we loved it! In fact, it wasn’t until Dad yelled something over the roar of “those twin 440 babies” about watching out for large objects the boat had pushed in its path that might just come back up to the surface just as we went over them, that I began to get jittery. After spending a few more minutes nervously watching the waters we decided I’d had enough and got back in the boat.
After a couple of hours’ cruise, Dad choose a large “island” in the center of the river for us to anchor and tie off. These are not really “islands” but are, in fact sandbars that come and go with the rising/lowering of the river. This particular sandbar had been above water for a number of years, judging by the size of the trees and other vegetation growing there. After securing the boat, we let the kids get off and run to their hearts’ content. Even though this was a busy holiday weekend, there was only one other boat tied up here. It happened to be some friends of my parents, so we quickly made plans to have a shared supper that evening, and the couple even said they’d brought fireworks (something we’d forgotten!), and would be happy to share with our kids.
My husband, and I, were given the task of barbecuing pork steaks. We had to do this on a small hibachi-type grill on shore. Normally, that’s not a problem. However, my parent’s friends had brought their dog with them on this trip, and every time we weren’t actually staring directly at the grill he’d grab a piece of meat and try to take off. Each attempted theft was met with a loud, booming “NO!” by my husband, and the dog would drop the meat……….in the sand. Now, since you can’t just run to the store to get replacement pork steaks, on a trip like this, we’d pick up the steak , brush off the sand as best we could, and replace it on the grill. By the time all the meat was cooked, it was coated not only in barbecue sauce but in a healthy layer of sand as well.
Now, hubby and I didn’t immediately share this information with the other diners, and to their credit no one took a bite and yelled, “What the heck??” as we ate dinner. However, the looks on their faces told all. For our part, hubby and I could barely contain our laughter as we, too, picked through the sand to get to the meat. At the end of the meal, we told all about what had happened and let them in on the joke. Fortunately, for us, they were good sports.
Later, that evening, the fireworks were brought out. The sparklers and fountains were a big hit with the kids. The “big bang” was being held back as the grand finale of the evening. Dad’s friend, with much fanfare, walked over to it and lit the fuse. It burned…yep, it burned very brightly…right down to the tissue paper…and then…………….nothing……….This created quite a quandary for all the adults. Was it a dud???And more importantly……….Who’s going to check???
In the end, we decided not to look, not to check, not to do anything until the next morning. When it was found, exactly as we’d left it and we were certain it had been a “$75 dud” as Dad’s friend put it.
The kids, normally ones to fight bedtime, thankfully fell soundly asleep as soon as they were tucked in. The adults sat up, drinking wine and carrying on, until well into the night. The next day we headed back to the marina, our heads full of delightful boating memories once again.
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