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After outgrowing our last boat and selling it last year, we finally replaced it this summer with bigger and better boat. We've been searching for a decent used boat that we could fit all six of us all year. A couple weeks ago I found one listed on Craig's List that was for sale in Electric City, WA, (Grand Cooley Dam). After exchanging e-mails with the seller and speaking with him on the phone, I decided to make the drive over to check it out. It actually worked out pretty well because I needed to go to the city of Moses Lake for a project I have going on at work, and Electric City is only about one hour north of Moses Lake. So Friday morning I took Alex and Skyler with me and we drove to Moses Lake to take care of the business I needed to do there, and then after lunch we drove up to Electric City to look at the boat.
It's ironic that after months of searching for a boat that suited our needs and our budget that the one we bought was in Electric City. Electric City is on Banks Lake, our family's all time favorite cheap vacation get away spots. I had gotten pretty jaded after looking at so many used boats I was wondering if we would ever find one that I felt was in good enough condition. We checked out the boat and liked what we saw. Alex and Sky really liked it, so much so that Alex said right in front of the guy selling it that he was sure we were going to buy this boat. So much for poker faced negotiations! I should have told them ahead of time to play it cool and let Dad do all the talking. I just said, "we'll see" if everything checks out".
We water tested the boat on Lake Roosevelt, the lake just above the Grand Cooley Dam. There had been a thunder and lightening storm that passed through just as we were towing the boat to the lake, and a lightening strike had started a brush fire along the road to the lake and the State Patrol closed it down stopping us from getting to the lake. The fire was very close and I was getting a little nervous that we might get caught in it, so I decided to get out of the truck and run up a small hill side next to the road for a better look. When I reached the top of the hill I was shocked at what I saw, there were huge flames only about 100 yards from us, and the wind was blowing our direction! I ran back to the truck thinking I was going to run the road block rather than risk getting caught in the fire. Just as I was pulling out of line, the state patrolman opened the road back up for us to escape. That was cutting it a little too close for comfort!
We finally reached the lake and launched the boat. It seemed to run very well and handled the water great. After about a 45 minute test ride, we loaded the boat back up and returned to the seller's house to negotiate the deal. Alex kept saying "I know we're going to buy this boat, Dad", as I tried my best to remain objective and focused about the impending transaction and tried not to let the boy’s enthusiasm sway my decision. A deal was finally reached for substantially less than the asking price and soon we were loading up the boat and trailer onto our truck. The boat's name is "Aquaholic". Cute, but we're thinking of changing it to something else.
We drove right to Banks Lake and launched our new boat for its maiden voyage. After spending a couple hours on the water in our new boat, it started getting dark, so we headed back to shore. We had decided to spend the night on our boat moored at the dock of the little marina there. It was a very hot and humid night, but it was great sleeping on the boat together with Alex and Sky, and they thoroughly enjoyed it!
Saturday morning we awoke with the sunrise and headed back out after gassing up the boat. We drove the boat down the lake to one of our favorite beaches at Steamboat Rock State Park and played in the water there for a while before exploring more of the lake. We decided we better get on our way home and loaded the boat back on the trailer and headed for home at about noon. It was a fun trip, just Dad, Alex and Sky and some quality time together, something they'll always remember.
Last Wednesday after work, I took Kyle and his friends Andy and Charles, along with Alex and Skyler out on the boat at Lake Washington for a couple of hours. We stopped the boat off of Seward Park and the boys swam for awhile. They hadn't planned on swimming and ended up having to swim in their skivvies.
Friday after work Lisa and I loaded up the boat and launched at Magnusson Park. This was Lisa's first time on the boat. We drove down to Andrews Bay at Seward Park and anchored there for the night. The weather had been rainy all day and it continued into the evening, but in Andrew’s bay it was very calm, and with the temperature about 70 degrees, we decided to go swimming. Saturday morning we awoke and the weather was beautiful. We had breakfast on the boat and then drove around the lake before heading back to the ramp and going home at about noon.
We're planning to make a trip up to the San Juan Island for a weekend soon and also explore more Washington waterways before summer is over. Like they say, Life is pretty dry without a boat!
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