Anyone who has read this blog for a while knows that it is traditional for Brett and I to go boating together, and then for something horrible to happen.   We don’t have good luck with boats together. On our first trip, renting jetskis on Lake Mead, we encountered high winds and brutal conditions.   On our second trip, we used two of Brett’s own jetskis on Lake Tarpon and one of them died five miles from the dock.

Our third trip was worse.   We rented a boat on Lake Mead and halfway across the lake it began to sink.

So it was with great expectations that I joined Brett again for another boating adventure today at Ft De Soto Park.   I knew something would happen.   It was just a matter of what.   I was primed for the thrill of disaster.

The mechanical problem, when it arrived, was rather unexciting.   Something clogged the fuel line of Brett’s ski.   He managed to get it to work its way out, but by then a spark plug was fouled.   Fortunately Brett carries a full kit for contingencies (wouldn’t you?) and had that spark plug replaced in just a minute.

I was thinking we had gotten off rather easy at that point.   Should have known better.   We wandered around the inlets and bays trying to figure out where we were permitted to go, because the place was littered with signs advising, “No wake,” “Shallow water,” and “Combustion Engine Exclusion.”

It wasn’t long before the Coast Guard patrol showed up, blue lights-a-flashing.   I’ve never been pulled over on a boat before.   At the dock, the officer had a good time telling us, in a very polite way, what complete and utter incompetent boobs we were for disregarding the signs.   For the most part it seemed the best course to simply agree with him.

Recognizing us for the (mostly) harmless idiots we were, he declined to give me a citation (because I was following Brett and holding an out-of-state license, e.g., just another dumb tourist) and cited Brett for the minimum he could, $65.   We got a map from the officer and figured out where to go for the rest of the afternoon without causing ecological damage or incurring more fines.

As boating trips go, that was one of our best ones together.   We got back to the dock with the engines still running, the bilges dry, and a few nice pictures in the camera.   See the value in having a few bad experiences?   It makes everything else seem fantastic.

Back at Ft Wilderness this evening we were treated to a (scheduled) visit by Alice and Tim Wymer, who live locally.   Alice has been a subscriber to Airstream Life since the beginning and has been following our blog, but they just got their first Airstream last summer.     I know I say this all the time, but it really is cool to meet people who have been inspired by the magazine or the blog.   I never get tired of it.