My wife and I spent Labor Day weekend in Coeur D’Alene, ID at the lake there with some friends and family.
Sunup Bay is the name of the resort – it’s a small community that’s essentially a throwback to the 1950s and Ozzie and Harriet.
Adults hang out watching the waves and the sunset with adult beverages in hand. Children scatter unsupervised to all corners of the camp, riding scooters, skateboards, and bikes everywhere – totally unconcerned about who’s doing what where and when.
Families do eventually re-converge for meals and bedtime.
It’s wonderful… except for a brief moment where I went “tubing.”
I had no plans to do so.
I was in that boat only to watch my granddaughter Lily enjoy the water ride with her dad Dave. However, ride round one was pretty darned bumpy and choppy, so the ship Captain recommended more butts in the inflatable for increased stability.
My daughter crawled in… leaving me or my wife doing rock-paper-scissors to round out the foursome.
I lost.
So I nervously, cautiously, with only the slightest twinge of terror clambered into the tube with the rest. I didn’t bring a swim suit, so I was in shorts, golf shirt, and was wearing my new “Sunup Bay” baseball cap I’d just purchased at the country store.
Captain Jerry fired up the engines and off we went.
I did okay at 5 knots. 10 knots… somewhat less so. Cranked up to 15 knots and choppy waters… rattling… bouncing… holding tight for dear life… not so much.
We hit a wave. Lily and I both caught serious air – my hang time slightly less. The new cap flew off somewhere into the drink.
Mercifully the ride ended soon after.
We all climbed back in the boat.
A few minutes later I asked Lily whether she enjoyed the ride and she said, “It was great Grandpa, until you started screaming.”
(Before you judge me, just remember that 7 year olds ARE prone to exaggerate.)
And to top off the experience, on the less-than-white knuckled voyage back to dock, my wife spotted my new cap floating mid-lake. We scooped it up and I have a freshly baptized souvenir of the entire experience.
I’m now back at the office – on dry land – and happy to return to the keyboard, which means:
Write faster. Write better. Right now.
– Jack
PS: BTW, there is a valuable writing tip in this email… any guesses?