Back to reality...

Ok. I didn't post yesterday because I didn't have enough time before hand to download the pictures and, quite frankly, I was just too tired. Anyway, now that we're back to reality, and the work week...here's a small dose of the weekend fun. More pictures will follow as the week continues.

Here's a great couple of pictures of the group on Sunday enjoying the shallow, wave-less waters behind two branch island. As promised Berk, take a look at the picture on the right; at the driver's seat. Someone's had a little too much fun!

Too far away for you to see? How about these closeups?...

and closer?

Ahhh...good times!

That's it from me...until tomorrow.

The weekend has arrived...

Well kids, the weekend has finally arrived. I can just see the fun times to be had on the river this weekend. Pack the lunch, ice the beer, tell your friends...it's boating time! I'm sure the pictures will be plentiful when I post my next blog. Plenty of boating...plenty of wiffle ball...plenty of partying...and probably some skiing/wakeboarding. However, in the midst of all this fun, we need to make sure we are safe. There are going to be a lot of people out there doing the same thing as us, and some bad things are bound to happen. Keeping on the subject...take a look at this mishap...apparently the police report states the driver was "blinded by the lights of a passing sailboat". Whatever the case...it had to have hurt...

Here's what it looked like by the time it got back to the harbor...

See you all at the river. Have fun, be safe, and enjoy the ride!

Memorial Day...

Because my camera lens has a big smudge on it, all my pictures suck. I need to make sure it is clean for this weekend's photos. Anyway, to stick with the topic of the upcoming weekend I was going to post some pictures of military memorials and such (you know...the real reason for the Monday holiday...not to give us an extra day of boating...although much appreciated), but didn't want to make this a somber affair. However, I did find this pretty cool picture of St. Louis back in 1891 on Memorial Day. I think you can see the Arch in the distance on the right, and Busch Stadium next to it.

I don't know. The photo was probably taken after the Cardinals just got done sweeping the Cubs in a 3 game set! Can't you see the 3rd guy from the right wearing the Cards hat?

Only 2 more days until all out bliss!!!

Her maiden voyage on the river...

My pictures today are courtesy of our boat's first trip on the Mississippi River- Pool 26. We stopped at the sandbar on Iowa Island for a quick rest and got a couple of snapshots of her...


Plans continue for good old Memorial Day weekend. Cross your fingers...knock on wood...but all three days currently look rain free and will be pushing 90. If yesterday and today (warm/humid) are any indication of the forecast...then we're in for a great weekend!

Anyone looking for a new house?

Today's picture is of Cameron's favorite house is Kentucky. This house is located in Paducah, Kentucky (about 2 miles from my parents house) and someone actually lives in it! It's pieced together by any scrap metal, wood, or ANYTHING the guy can find. Notice the fine support work of the walls...2x4's jammed against the side. On most days, you can find the owner (a humbling old gray haired man) sitting in his lawn chair on the "porch" located behind the telephone pole on the left side of this picture.

They just don't make houses like they used to...

Not totally a bust...

Well, we did make it out on the boat Saturday, only to experience overcast skies and rain for most of the afternoon. Now, we tried to stay out and brave the day for as long as possible, but most of the group was ready to give up on the day by about 4pm. We slowly cruised back to the marina to drop most of the passengers off. See how excited everyone was...

You see...I was destermined to find blue skies and sun so myself and Cameron stayed on the boat in search of this mysterious "sun". While waiting for Tom to rejoin us on the boat and continue our search for the "sun", Cameron and I stumbled upon a small community of people who like to call their "village" Kinders. Well, not to disrespect the inhabitants of Kinders, we learned their ways and engaged in the libations that they served.

Once we regrouped with Tom, we found the boat pointing the right direction and in no time we reached our goal...the sun. We decided to float for some time before dropping anchor and enjoying the sunset. As you can see, with some chicken kabobs grilling on the Weber and a couple of cold ones in hand...the sunset is that much better (except the fact that one of the coolies has a stupid Cubs logo...GO CARDS!).

Post sunset, we decided to head back past the marina for one last float/drink of the night. With darkness upon us and beers still in hand, we began devising plans to pass the time away. As you can see below, we determined a viking funeral for the kabob sticks, napkins, foil, dorritos, and just about anything else we could find was the best way to end the night. Check it out as Cameron preps the ship and then watches it sail into the distance...

In follow-up to my prior post...

I apologize, but I do need to give credit where credit is due. The artwork that I displayed for our coolie was designed by one of our OG- "Nautical Thugz"...Cameron Imming. Thanks Cam. You can also visit his blogsite by clicking on the his link in the sidebar.

To the river...

As promised, I had to requote myself from yesterday. To the river it is! Today seems to be a great day and hopefully just a precursor of what we have to come tomorrow. It had taken me a lot of self control not to leave work earlier. I should be able to get some great pictures of the group and day tomorrow so I can start posting some good ones.

Tom has made the suggestion to bring out the lights and play a night game of wiffle ball at Tomco Field. As always...I'm game. I'll make sure I catch some pictures of that as well since I forgot last weekend.

We're working on getting some group coolies made with our signature "Nautical Thugz" theme. Final ideas and artwork are on the table and all we have to do is order them. Below is a sneak peak at what one of the sides should display. I can't wait...it should be nice not to have to dig around for a coolie...there will be a plethora on the boat, and in the garage, and in the house, and in the car, and in the golf bag, and so on. See yus all on the water!

We boat...

Weekend boating plans are rapidly beginning to develop and the gang is all pumped to get out and enjoy the forthcoming good weather. The only problem is trying to work around everyone's schedule to please the crowd. It was much more simple when we were single. I never had plans, and I was always up for fun at a moments whim. Now it seems like I need a week's notice, management signoff, and a "fun form" request submitted. Oh well, things will gel together shortly and we'll all be ready to go.

The boat is gassed up...about 3/4 full...but I'll probably fill her up before going out so to avoid any possible rate hikes we may see with the upcoming memorial day weekend. We'll also have to see if Tom's Sea Doo makes it out of hibernation anytime soon. Next week's forecast is pushing 90 so it should give a good boost to the river's current 68 degree temperature. The water should soon be tolerable to experience 70mph of wetness! Oh the fun to be had.

Cameron's looking at a little issue with his boat legality too. The boat, nor trailer, are registered and his lazy wife apparently doesn't know the concept of standing in line at the DMV to get the proper stickers. We'll see if she makes it through tomorrow so any upcoming boat excusions are not ruined by expensive water patrol tickets.

To the river! Well, that's probably a little early. I'll make that comment in tomorrow's post. After all, it will be Friday.

Weather reports sounding better...

Ah...as today continues...reports of better weather have surfaced. The weekend is starting to report almost summerlike temperatures (rain aside), but the following week's forecast shows temperatures pushing 90 and them some. I can feel the fever growing stronger. Multiple emails have been sent between myself, Tom and Cameron about our weekend plans...and all plans include boating. Let's huridly get through this work week and enjoy what we spent all this money to enjoy. In the meantime, courtesy of cartoonstock.com...














I figure this cartoon goes with our group's theme. Before we purchased our boat and Cameron upgraded to a large boat, passenger room was tight and we always had to prioritize our the occupants. No longer do we need to worry.

This week looks promising...I think...

According to weatherman Dave Murray, this weekend could be boatable. Well, everyday is boatable, but this weekend could be enjoyable when boating. I also thought about getting the boat out this week, but may not find the time. I don't really care as long as I can get out for both or at least one of the weekend days.

We'll see how it progresses. When I looked at the forecast on Sunday, this upcoming weekend was listed right near 80. Nothing seems to be going in the right direction these days.

This past weekend...

Well...the temperature for the weekend was not really condusive of outdoor summertime activities (low 60s on Saturday and even low 50s on Sunday), but we tried to make the best of it with a baseball theme.

Most of Saturday was spent honing up on the wiffle ball skills. Nothing special, just merely a practice session. As for Sunday, we headed to the New Busch Stadium to watch the Cards battle the Diamondbacks. This was my first trip to the new stadium and I thought it was pretty cool. It has some looks of the old ballparks with some added contemporary design. I know there are still some issues to be worked out to please the masses, but I personally didn't experience any problems...only that it turned out to be more of a sloppy little league game. A total of 6 errors were committed by both teams and the Cards ultimately lost 7-6.

Although the next couple days appear to be wet and overcast, the 10 day outlook seems to be more pleasant. As of right now, boating looks to be in the upcoming weekend plans...if not even some evening later this week.

Our Boat...

Well...here's a picture of the boat (just imagine it in navy blue instead of red). It's only a factory picture from the website (www.tahoesportboats.com)- I haven't had a chance to download any pictures from the camera.

It's a great boat...so far...we've only gotten 12 hours of break-in time on it...but it's definitely been great! It has an upgraded 5.0L- 220hp motor and reviews claim it to reach a top speed of about 51mph at 4400RPM. It's not the most luxurious or fanciest boat you'll see on the water (far from it), but it definitely works for us...and our budget. For those of you looking to purchase their first boat, and trying to stay in a smaller budget range, then I recommend checking out a Tahoe. They provide a lot of standard equipment that the other manufacturers consider "options".