Boys and Their Toys...

It should have been a good indicator of things to come when Mike associated every story or event with the car he was driving at the time.  "We took the maroon '64 Nova when we went to visit Chris in Groton, Connecticut."   Like most guys, he has been enamored with cars over the years, but it is the bigger toys - the boats and the recreational vehicles - that seem to trigger a phenomenon known as "two-foot-ites" in men.  And sometimes, it hits them hard.

Our boat saga began in 1988 with the purchase of a dandy new 18 foot Bayliner.  On occasion we took her to Mark Twain Lake near Hannibal, MO, but more often we trailered her to the Lake of the Ozarks in central Missouri, where we typically stayed at a little Mom-and-Pop resort that consisted of a half dozen rock cabins near the Grand Glaize Bridge.  Mike and the boys (ages 13 and 11 when we bought the first boat) liked to water ski.  Looking back, it is hard to imagine that I was often at the helm with two and sometimes three skiers in tow!  We played with that boat for five years.  As the boys got older and had other interests beyond the lake, Mike and I found we "needed" a different style boat.

Our first boat, a 1988 Bayliner open-bow run-about, parked next to Bagnell
Dam at the Lake of the Ozarks.  Prior to 9/11, you could tour the power
generating plant inside the dam, but it is no longer open to the public.

Our Bayliner tied up in a slip at Tan-Tar-A Resort at the Lake of
the Ozarks.  The duck wasn't ours.

Mike at the helm of our Bayliner run-about

In 1993 we purchased a used 1990 Regal 255XL cuddy cabin that we named Hydro-Therapy.  We kept her at Marina Bay at the nineteen mile marker on the Lake of the Ozarks.  We had fun with that boat for a year; unfortunately, we owned it for two years.  Toward the end of the first season we were enjoying a beautiful Indian summer sunset cruise and just as I finished uttering the words "what a perfect evening" the engine quit.  After being adrift for nearly  an hour, with nightfall fast approaching, a good Samaritan came to our rescue and towed us to the nearest marina.  Thus began a year of frustration and aggravation as rebuilding the engine (twice, but that's another story!) caused us to miss most of the 1994 boating season.  By September, when the boat was finally cobbled together, we moved to a new marina and in the spring of 1995 bought a new boat.

Hydro-Therapy in her slip at Marina Bay

A much younger Capt. Mike at the helm of Hydro-Therapy

Hydro-Therapy during the first year we owned her

Hydro-Therapy just off of our dock at Marina Bay

Yvonne's favorite place on all of our boats was sitting on the bow
while underway.  Here, she tries out the bow of Hydro-Therapy.

When your toys break you just get bigger, better toys.  After our experiences with our used boat, we decided to purchase new - a 1995 Bayliner 2855 Ciera, named her Hydro-Therapy II and docked her at Village Marina, three miles from Bagnell Dam.  Once again boating was fun.  We enjoyed zipping around the lake and coving out overnight.  We made many good friends at the dock and around the lake, and the marina became our second home for the next sixteen years.  But according to Mike and his buddy, Dick, Hydro-Therapy II was missing two essential components - an electric windlass and a generator.

Hydro-Therapy II in her slip at Village Marina

So Hydro-Therapy III was purchased in 1997.  Dick loved finding new boats - for other people to buy - and he discovered a brand-new, never titled, two year old Chris Craft.  It had been part of the inventory at a marina when the two partners dissolved the  partnership and couldn't agree on a split of the assets.  The 32-foot Chris Craft had a windlass, a generator, two engines (which is either better than one or twice as much aggravation and expense) and upper and lower helm stations.  She was a fine boat.  The only issue was that after a while we had a hard time getting her quickly on plane.  We changed props and tried other fixes.  Amazingly, the problem was fixed after we purchased our final boat and were in the process of moving all of our gear.  The boat dramatically gained buoyancy and she practically flew down the lake. Apparently we had unwittingly weighted her down with "stuff".

Hydro-Therapy III, pulled out for bottom painting.  Because the boats
remained in the water year-around, the hulls had to be painted with
anti-fouling paint every three years to prevent the build-up of alge. 

Hydro-Therapy III in her slip at Village Marina

Relaxing in the cockpit of Hydro-Therapy III as the sun sets

Hydro-Therapy III -- 4th of July raft-up

Hydro-Therapy III anchored in Powerline Cove on the lake

We said we would never own a Wave Runner, but at one of the
boat shows, it seemed like a good idea.  We sold it 4 years later,
with fewer than 50 hours on the engine.

The little girl on the Wave Runner with Mike is the daughter of a couple
who were long-time dock friends.  Think time doesn't pass quickly?
Taylor graduated from college a couple of years ago.

Alas, that two-foot-ites hit again in the fall of 2000.  That October, after looking at a number of boats, we purchased a gently-loved 1995 Carver 355 aft cabin motor yacht.  We christened her Horizon Dancer.  It was our floating second home and she was lovely.  She offered upper and lower helm stations, two state rooms, two heads and even an oven in the galley.  We particularly enjoyed her roomy, covered aft deck.  The boating season stretched from the first warm day in March to about Halloween.  With the exception of generator issues at one point, she handled and performed well.  I quickly learned the guys used the term "boat unit" when talking about the cost of repairs or anything marine-related (a "boat unit" being equal to $1,000).  Our friend Nancy also taught me the phrase "If it can be fixed with money, it isn't a problem, it's just an expense."  Upon reflection, that philosophy is applicable to a lot of daily life.

In 2007, Mike was elected Commodore of the Lake of the
Ozarks Yachting Association (LOYA).  This photo was
taken on our dock at Village Marina

When we bought this boat, she was called On Hold.  We held a
re-christening ceremony and re-christened her Horizon Dancer

Horizon Dancer in 2008, the year we put her on the market

On the bridge of Horizon Dancer.  Sophie was just a baby, so she
had to keep her life jacket on every time we were underway, but
she loved to sit at the helm

Rafted up in the harbor at Warsaw, MO.  Horizon Dancer is the tall boat next
to the dock. Tied up next to us were our good friends, Dick and Nancy, in Hi-lary 

Over the course of nearly twenty-three years of boating, and especially our sixteen years at Village Marina, we spent many lazy mornings in our PJs sipping coffee on the dock with friends.  But in everything, there are transitions, endings and beginnings.  The lake became increasingly rough to the point we didn't even go out on holiday weekends.  Extensive home building meant there were fewer and fewer unspoiled coves for spending the night "on the hook."  The land-locked lake ceased to offer new opportunities and more and more, we found ourselves just staying on the dock.  Long-time friends sold their boats or moved away, or passed away.  In 2008, we put Horizon Dancer on the market...just as the recession hit.  It took three years, but in the fall of 2011, we sold her for a reasonable price.  An era had come to an end.  But new adventures awaited.

THE END of an era.  This was actually a friend's boat that had an impeller
problem.  But why is it, when somebody is working on some mechanical problem,
every man feels compelled to lean in and watch...or offer his own "expertise"?

Mike's brother, Bob and our sister-in-law, Cindy, have been RV'ers for many years.  With their urging and encouragement (and, admittedly, Mike didn't require much of either) we decided to try the RV lifestyle, and in January 2012 we purchased a new Rockwood 2604 travel trailer that we found on a dealer's lot.  Of course, a new trailer required a new truck so a new Chevy Silverado 1500 came to live in our driveway. 

PDI - pre-delivery inspection - on our first travel trailer on a cold day in February 2012.

Interior of our Rockwood 2604 travel trailer

Rockwood 2604 hooked up to truck #1, our 2011 Chevy Silverado

Call us crazy -- I certainly did -- but our inaugural trip took us to Washington, D.C.  The traffic was horrible; the cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin were beautiful, the trip was marvelous, and we were hooked.  That year, in addition to our east coast trip, we traveled through Kansas, Colorado and Utah to Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, and to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.  All told, we probably put 9,000 miles on that trailer in a year, and finally returned home in freezing rain in October.

Two-foot-ites is not exclusive to boats.  In January of 2013, almost a year to the day after we bought our first trailer, we ordered a 2014 Rockwood Windjammer 3008W.  I loved the layout of our Windjammer, with the kitchen in the front "V".  At thirty-four feet she offered more space in the bedroom, tons of storage, and a wide-open living/dining area.

Our Windjammer (and truck #2) parked in front of our house on a sunny fall day.

The Windjammer had a large and comfortable living area...

...so comfortable,in fact, that Mike and Sophie often napped in
their own individual recliners.

Mike and Sophie in front of the Windjammer.  We realized we hadn't
put her name on our sign.  That oversight has now been rectified.

The FROG International Rally attracts lots of folks to Goshen each
August.  Sophie, of course, wouldn't think of missing it.

Our final trip in the Windjammer (although we didn't know it at the time) included a
week-long stay at Gulf State Park in Orange Beach, Alabama in February 2016

Hooked up and ready to leave St. George Island, off of
Apalachicola, Florida in February 2016

We had one recurring problem with the Windjammer.  A thermistor in the refrigerator repeatedly failed when operating on propane, causing the unit not to work on gas OR electric.  It was aggravating for us; it was disastrous for our canine family member, Sophie, who must have her organic French Vanilla yogurt, green beans and ham or chicken breast for meals (yes, she eats better and more healthy than we do).  Eventually, the cause of the failure was isolated and the problem was resolved.  Of course, a bigger trailer required a bigger truck, so our half-ton Chevy was replaced with a three-quarter ton Chevy with a big V-8 gasoline engine.  In three years, we put nearly 30,000 miles on the Windjammer, and have had some wonderful and memorable adventures.

In November of 2015, Mike bought a Silverado 2500HD with a Duramax diesel.  I knew it was only a matter of time...  On March 7, he returned home with a grin on his face, clutching a brochure and a packet of papers; the only question was which model he ordered.  Fast-forward eight weeks, to May 10 -- the day we took delivery of our new 2017 Columbus Compass 320RSC.  I admit the size of the fifth wheel makes me a bit nervous but Mike is nearly giddy over his new toy.

On a rainy May morning, our Windjammer and our new Columbus sit side-by-side
on the dealer's lot.  Paperwork all done, and we're ready to begin moving.

Bedroom...queen-size bed (we find it easier to make than a king size)

The couch opens up to a queen-size bed.  On the left, you can just see the
front edge of one of the recliners.  We opted for individual rocker-recliners
rather than the standard theater seating

Entertainment center and fireplace, and that huge stainless steel refrigerator

First time towing our new Columbus.  The Duramax diesel
(big-boy-toy truck #3) handled it well.

Rear living area and kitchen.  We opted for a full-size residential
refrigerator and convection microwave.

Two-foot-ites is supposed to apply to LENGTH, not HEIGHT.  Look how big this thing is!

Moving from our Windjammer to our new Columbus

A bittersweet day.  We're thrilled with our new Columbus, but sad
to say goodbye to our Windjammer.  It took us to some amazing places.

It seems only fitting that we continue our odyssey in a "Columbus" - once again setting sail, only this time on terra firma.

Columbus Compass Series 320RSC - - let the adventures continue

Boys and Their Toys...sometimes exasperating, but they always make good Road Stories.