What I've Been Up to This Summer, Part 1...Boating!

Since I had been absent from the blogging world for so long, I'm sure that some of you wondered what I have been doing with my summer. Besides work....LOTS!

One of my favorite things is to go boating, and living in a town with three rivers, this is a great place to do it! My friend Monica and her husband Jon own this boat. Just a reminder, you can click on any pic to see a larger image.


It was time for me to get a new pair of boat-worthy flip-flops and join in the fun! Yes, I know I have cankles.


We set off on Sunday of Memorial Day weekend on the Auglaize River from this boat launch, downriver from the Power Dam.


Here is a shot of the pretty river.


There was a family on board, besides my friends and myself. Their little boy was adorable!


He brought along a little friend. I was only too happy to watch Mr. Teddy while he "drove" the boat. (It was anchored at the time and the ignition was off.)


We saw some fun sights along the way. A boat was pulling a dock along in the water with this teenage boy perched on top. Not your conventional way to transport a dock!


In one part of the river near an island, there is a sandbar. Boats put down anchor there and people swim. I imagine that they also drink...quite a lot, though we didn't care to participate in that part of it.


Though Memorial Day was unseasonably warm in the high 80s, the water was still pretty chilly. I can't believe all these people went swimming!


So did some of our party!


On the way back, we had a view of the Power Dam. Electricity used to be generated here. It's now a popular fishing spot.


After we were back on land, I noticed that we were in a picturesque spot, and there were some pretty trees.


I have a passion for barns, and couldn't resist taking a picture of this red barn across the street from the boat launch.


As the day drew to a close, the sun began to set behind the trees. It was time to head home.

We went out again, this time on the Maumee River, the next day. I didn't get any more pics that weekend, but did a few weeks later...

...On July 3, I took another boat ride with Jon and Monica. This time, my sweetie and his son and daughter joined us. We launched the boat from this dock. This dock floats to accommodate the fluctuating water levels, and believe me, it can vary a lot.


I know that some of you have been wondering what my sweetheart looks like. He isn't really ready to share many pics, so I did this picture of him, myself, and his daughter in paint. You can't see them clearly, but have an idea of what they look like.


Here is the pretty river, the Maumee. We traveled almost all the way to the dam, then back near the city's downtown area.


It was a beautiful warm day, perfect for some water sports. Now I won't get in that icky muddy water, but our host Jon, and Sweetheart's son decided to go on in.


Here is his son tubing in the river. What a blast! He did a great job!


Besides boating and tubing, our next plan was to set anchor not far from the confluence of the mighty Maumee and the Auglaize Rivers, adjacent to the library grounds, the site of the former Fort Defiance. There were scores of boats lined up to watch the fireworks!


The fireworks were beautiful. It was such a treat to watch them from the river, unimpeded by trees and big crowds.





As the fireworks ended, we had a leisurely ride back to the boat dock in the dark. It was actually really nice being out on the river that late, though it was chilly. My sweetie cuddled me close, and people along the riverbank were setting off their own fireworks. I told Sweetie to kiss me, so that I could say that when he did, I saw fireworks! lol He was happy to oblige.

It was the end of a wonderful day.

Tune back in again soon to hear what my other activities have been this summer. I've been having tons of fun!