Since I am supposedly related to Thomas S. Monson and he referred to a Miller ancestor on the that line I am supposed to be related, today I began thinking about my grandfather and boats. My grandfather left Scotland and crossed the Atlantic Ocean when he was six to come to Utah. That boat trip changed life for generations of people. I am so glad he made it. I will post an account of it today also.
But the boat trips I enjoy thinking about the most took place mostly on Hauser Lake in the 1980s and early 1990’s. As a young family, there was never much money for vacations, even if we could have tolerated the stress of one with five children close in age. In 1988 or so, Preston and I somehow scraped together about 3000 to get a 1968 Starcraft inboard/outboard. Purpose: family fun. And it was fun!
The maiden voyage for our boat was to Cemetery Island to visit our ancestor’s graves on Memorial Day. It was COLD. I remember looking enviously at other boaters who had tops on their boats. We picked wild flowers and used them as Memorial Day decorations for the graves of Emelyn Owens Byrd, Rose Robertson, Clara Bompart, and Joseph Byrd. I’ve always thought they must have been pleased to be remembered with silky crazy weed and the other flowers we left.
The fun didn’t end there, though. We invested in a boogie board and water skis and headed to Hauser Lake later in the summer. We would launch the boat and head to a rope swing in a little cove. We walked around the cove and climbed a short ways up the rough, shaley mountainside. We grabbed the swing, pushed off and swung over the lake and dropped eight feet into the water. Whew! Adrelalin rushed as we fell deep into the water.
Before long, the kids were trying out the boogie board. Maren caught on very quickly. Julie was younger, so she spent a lot of time tipping over while taking off. Before long, both girls were skimming down the lake behind the boat, pony tails flying horizontally behind them. I wish I had a picture of that!
Lisa, Kristy, and Evan were too young for water skis or boogie boards, but they loved riding and driving the boat. Evan maintained he was captain of that boat.
Before the boat, I habitually felt exhausted by evening in the summer. After we bought the boat, I realized I was too hot in the summer in my Levis. After cooling off during an evening out on the lake, I would feel refreshed, even though we came home at 10:00 p.m.
I suppose we should feel guilty for having lake nights quite often on Monday. Spiritual lessons were not included, or even though of. Frankly I can’t think of any FHEs I enjoyed more. We would wait for Preston to get home from work, 10 gallon water cooler ready and often a chicken dinner and paper plates in a brown paper sack. Bathing suits under our shorts, we were off!
Some hot summer days, I long for a boat again, especially when the kids and grandkids visit. I better hurry and write my best seller, so we can buy one. I suppose a financial analyst would say that we were not responsible and the 3000 smackeroos would have been more beneficially used by investing in an IRA. You will never convince me of that, though.
But the boat trips I enjoy thinking about the most took place mostly on Hauser Lake in the 1980s and early 1990’s. As a young family, there was never much money for vacations, even if we could have tolerated the stress of one with five children close in age. In 1988 or so, Preston and I somehow scraped together about 3000 to get a 1968 Starcraft inboard/outboard. Purpose: family fun. And it was fun!
The maiden voyage for our boat was to Cemetery Island to visit our ancestor’s graves on Memorial Day. It was COLD. I remember looking enviously at other boaters who had tops on their boats. We picked wild flowers and used them as Memorial Day decorations for the graves of Emelyn Owens Byrd, Rose Robertson, Clara Bompart, and Joseph Byrd. I’ve always thought they must have been pleased to be remembered with silky crazy weed and the other flowers we left.
The fun didn’t end there, though. We invested in a boogie board and water skis and headed to Hauser Lake later in the summer. We would launch the boat and head to a rope swing in a little cove. We walked around the cove and climbed a short ways up the rough, shaley mountainside. We grabbed the swing, pushed off and swung over the lake and dropped eight feet into the water. Whew! Adrelalin rushed as we fell deep into the water.
Before long, the kids were trying out the boogie board. Maren caught on very quickly. Julie was younger, so she spent a lot of time tipping over while taking off. Before long, both girls were skimming down the lake behind the boat, pony tails flying horizontally behind them. I wish I had a picture of that!
Lisa, Kristy, and Evan were too young for water skis or boogie boards, but they loved riding and driving the boat. Evan maintained he was captain of that boat.
Before the boat, I habitually felt exhausted by evening in the summer. After we bought the boat, I realized I was too hot in the summer in my Levis. After cooling off during an evening out on the lake, I would feel refreshed, even though we came home at 10:00 p.m.
I suppose we should feel guilty for having lake nights quite often on Monday. Spiritual lessons were not included, or even though of. Frankly I can’t think of any FHEs I enjoyed more. We would wait for Preston to get home from work, 10 gallon water cooler ready and often a chicken dinner and paper plates in a brown paper sack. Bathing suits under our shorts, we were off!
Some hot summer days, I long for a boat again, especially when the kids and grandkids visit. I better hurry and write my best seller, so we can buy one. I suppose a financial analyst would say that we were not responsible and the 3000 smackeroos would have been more beneficially used by investing in an IRA. You will never convince me of that, though.
4 comments:
I loved those days at the lake! The innertube was awesome too. And remember how Evan was continually telling Dad to go faster! And remember the huge horseflies down by the rope swing, and the clay we would find by Black Sandy. What a blast!
That really took me back to all the fun we had at the lake. Thanks for the post. I would much rather you spent the money on a boat. Building family relationships are way more important! My friend here in Japan said she would rather have her parents spend money on relationships than save and save money so she could have a great inheritance. I agree with her. We had lots of fun as kids and now we all love each other and get along!
I couldn't agree more. It was money well spent. We won't take money with us into the afterlife, but I'm taking those happy memories with me!
I love this post. Those are great memories. And I remember after a hard day playing at the lake coming home to peaches and cream for dinner. Yum! And I loved boogie boarding. But I still need to learn to ski.
I was just telling Pippi the other day about the rope swing. She was very jealous. Maybe we can find one for her some day.
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