Day Two: The Tubes

Ha, more "not's"....this one is not referring to the so named band, but instead describes the day in one word: tubes. Lots of 'em, all day, at high speed. If you have not caught on yet, we went tubing a lot. My day when somewhat differently then the rest, so for their story, ask them, duh!

The first part of my day started with waking up and seeing sunrise over the lake, then sleeping until 8 and getting the boat ready to ride. Once everyone else was up, breakfast was eaten, and we all (the four main characters, and the three sisters) waited for Tom's Uncle to show, for he was our chauffeur for the day. After Tom and I ran two very successful knee-board runs (while the rest of the people where on the pontoon boat) I put my full weight down onto an up-turned screw point that drove straight into my knee-cap. It hurt a little, and bled more. So I assisted Kim (the eldest sister) in returning the pontoon to the dock while the others ran a few runs on the knee-board. Once we all got back together, a long round of tubing began. At one point, Jeff and I were on one tube, while Kim was on another. Jeff had never tubed before, Kim was apparently the master, and I had shorts on that came off in the slightest breeze. So, it was interesting. Lots of slipping, flipping, and ripping as we three tubed along. But, alas, this had to end so I could embark on a solo excursion to see Dave Rybacki, a good friend of mine as a former Crew Leader at Philmont and I was his ranger.

I left the lake house at 12:15, en route to St. Joseph, MI. 45 minutes later, I am parked outside a 9,000 sq. ft. house which sits right on Lake Michigan. Dave greets me with a smile and shows me around the bottom floor and his wing of the house. That's right, not just his room, his wing of the house. Full size living room, fully functional kitchen, accessible from the garage, full bath and master-bedroom size bedroom...Huge to put a nice word for it. Excessive to put a different tone on it. So, after a while there, we head to Chili's, where we talk politics, war, guns, mercenaries, and hot waitresses (St. Jo's did not have the same lack of women as all of Ohio...go figure). Along the way, we had Presidential Margaritas with a kicker of Disaronno, which made the drink oh so smooth. I will never go back. Then, after a short ride back to his house in his tricked-out Jeep Wrangler, we toured his neighborhood on the golf cart, then I had to head back for dinner. Oh yeah, did I mention he is living there by himself because it is only his family's lake house? I think I like the Shack better, but for different reasons...

Once back at the Grandparent's place, more knee-boarding ensued. The board was so old that the Velcro no longer worked, so I did a run without the strap, which was interesting in its own right. But then came dinner, with awesome chicken and salad, which was just what the doctor ordered. Once dinner was over, the Tube Wars commenced, pitting man vs. man and man. vs woman for the undisputed tube championship. Two tubes enter, one tube leaves (with a person still on it, cause both tubes technically still leave together...) Tom proved himself to be the champ, but I still held my own even with pants that fell off every round and throwing up the dinner I stuffed myself with.

Well, after the wars, ice cream was served and most people went to bed very quickly compared to the past few nights...except for your loyal narrator, who diligently stayed awake to bring you this story, with little concern for his own welfare. But don't let that get you down, dear reader, for I am going to see Chicago (the city) and Steve Miller Band (the band) tomorrow in concert, so I think I will survive!

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