Boating at Rockport

Little bro on the left, and the misses on the right.

One of my favorite things about summer is the fun opportunities to spend with friends and family.  Last weekend my family and I went boating at Rock Port Reservoir.  We haven't been able to get out on the lake this summer as previous years so I was really excited to get out and recreate.

The wife and I drove over to my parents late morning to help pack up and get ready to go.  My mom really goes all out and packs a full lunch and dinner.  I'm always surprised at how much gear it takes to travel anywhere.  My little brother, who you will see on the left in the photo above, agreed to drive so we packed everything into his car.  We were a little unsure how three coolers were going to fit in the back of his vehicle.  I took this as a challenge and thought back on the hours of tetris I played as a kid.  We eventually got it all to fit and we were off to the lake.  Everything was going according to plan when disaster struck.  All of a sudden the vehicle stopped giving power and we were coasting on the freeway.  Luckily we were close to the exit were we needed to get off and made it to a gas station just off the exit.  Everyone got out and began guessing what what the problem might be.  A guy from across the station told us it was simply vapor lock and that we just needed to wait 10 or 20 minutes and it would start up again.  We waited and tried it again and nothing happened.  Out of ideas we called my dad and older brother who were already waiting for us at the lake and told them what had happened.  Under the assumption that the problem was vapor lock we decided to leave the car their in the parking lot and go ahead with our boating trip.  My older brother pulled up and took us the rest of the way to the lake.

When we arrived we quickly set up camp on the beach.  After eating lunch we all took turns going out on the boat to go tubing, water skiing, and wake boarding, while the rest of us played in the water on the shore.  What a blast!  We used to be able to go out all at once but we have all grown up and got married.  Once we get a fully inflated tube and four people aboard it gets pretty cramped, but we make due.

Another great part about boating is the hamburgers for dinner.  There's nothing better that a fresh hamburger with all the fixins on a calm evening by the lake.  The atmosphere is so calming and wholesome.  We were having so much fun we almost forgot about the car issues we were had earlier in the day.  My brother took the car and went to the gas station to see if it was still there.  They reported it was still there but the gas station manager yelled at them and warned them she was 15 minutes from calling a tow truck.  Yikes.  They also reported the car still wouldn't start.  Just before dusk we packed up everything loaded up the boat and left for home leaving behind my brothers car alongside a lonely road.  We figured it was too late to do anything about it so we'll just have to take care of it on Sunday.

That was our boating adventure.  We had a blast on the lake but the car problems were kind of a bummer.  It's funny how quickly an innocent family outing can turn to disaster.  That's life I guess.

Sincerely your friend,
Bryce