This past Saturday we headed over to a lake in Indiana where we met up with Mr. Crackers' parents & many members of his extended family for the annual lake outing. In total about 25 family members showed up for the event with 2 pontoon boats, a ski boat and a jet ski to ferry our floating family reunion around the lake.
The weather was very hot and hazy with some forecasted showers later in the afternoon. This may not sound like ideal boating weather, but honestly we don't really spend all that much time on the boats during the trip. What we do is anchor all the boats together to form this giant flotilla and then everyone gets in the water for a nice refreshing swim. The boats are really just there to hold our snacks and beverages.
As Mr. Crackers can attest, I'm not really much of a boating person, or a swimming person. I'm more of a sit next to a large body of water in the shade with a book and a drink while ocean/lake breezes keep me cool kind of person. But, since my husband and my kids love, love, love the water, I spend a lot more time in and on the water than I would normally be inclined to.
Thankfully the day was hot and the water in the lake was cool, but not so much that I got chilled too easily. Yes, I get cold really easily in the water. As I said before I'm really not much of a water person & also may be considered a bit of a wimp. But the water felt so great, I spent a lot of time in the lake with the rest of the family. It was really lovely.
Of course, Mr. Crackers found another way to stay cool. He fell in love with his uncle's jet ski and spent quite a bit of time zooming around the lake. I was sure pretty sure after the first hour, that a jet ski would be appearing on Mr. Crackers' Christmas list this year.
We probably stayed anchored in the same spot for about 2-3 hours until
(for some reason that I don't quite remember) we decided to head across the lake to see how things looked on that side of the world.
Once we anchored in this new spot, which was very similar to our last spot just a bit farther east, everyone piled out of the boats and into the water once again.
Well, not everyone. By this time, I was pretty waterlogged and feeling a bit too fried by the sun, so I opted to stay on board one of the pontoon boats with a couple of Kevin's aunts and eat some snacks. Seriously, this family does not mess around the provisions. There was a cheese ball, Doritos, Pringles, Combos, pretzels and Oreos. In short, I was quite content to stay on board.
Just as I was contemplating applying sunscreen for what seemed like the 4th time, I heard someone say, "Was that thunder?"
I didn't hear it though and although the sky was a bit overcast as I looked to
(what I now know was the eastern) sky, I didn't see any clouds looming ahead of me so I settled back down with my crackers, and Oreos, and maybe a bit of that cheese ball.
And then...I heard it. The thunder. It was loud enough to make me turn around and that's when I realized how important it is to scan all of the sky when you're on a boat. As I looked to (what I now know was the west) I saw a wall of black clouds that were apparently behind me the whole time. (Note to self...it's a good idea to keep an eye on the sky to the west if you're trying to see what kind of weather is heading in your direction. Duh!)
Anyhoo, just as I said, "Wow that sky is really, really dark.", we all heard a larger boom of thunder that was considerably louder than the last one. So, I looked over at Kevin's aunts & said, "Does anyone else think it's a bad idea to be caught in a thunderstorm on a metal boat in the middle of the lake?" There was a little bit of conferring and looking at the sky when one the aunts agreed, "Yea, we should probably start to head in."
That was all the encouragement I needed. I headed over the the water, pointing to the sky & telling Mr Crackers & his father my whole metal boat in an electrical storm concern. Apparently though, no else seemed as worried as yours truly. So, it took a bit of convincing (which may or may not have appeared to my husband and father-in-law as a small panic attack. I'll repeat again here that I'm not really much of a boater). Eventually though I think people began to agree that it may be wise to avoid the storm while on the boat (or at least they agreed that I seemed to be getting increasingly agitated & it was time to get me off the lake no matter what the weather looked like to the west).
Eventually all 25 of us loaded back onto the boats, but when we looked west to where the marina happened to be, we couldn't see anything anymore. The rain and the dark clouds had now obscured our view. And that black line was marching it's way right in our direction.
After a quick conference, (where I kept repeating "I really think we should start the engine & get moving now" with increasing amounts of conviction & okay yes, a bit of panic) it was decided that we should proceed east to the beach & see if we could find some shelter there.
And so our ill-fated race against the elements began.
I think we all knew we were going to get wet. Quite frankly almost all of us (at least those who hadn't been enjoying the delicious cheese ball and snack bar on the boat) were already wet. It's just that we all forgot just how cold the rain and wind of a summer thunderstorm can be...in a boat...out in the open...on a lake.
To my children's credit, they remained calm, even breaking into song, "Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day." This was good since it kept them occupied and allowed me time to contemplate our impending doom and estimate just how many life jackets were within my reach if we were going down. Thankfully the kids already had their life jackets on, so that was at least once less thing I needed to worry about.
Our last anchor point had been relatively close to the beach so we didn't have too far to go. It was ironic though, we were so close to land, but the wind and the rough waters was making it almost impossible for my father in-law to steer the boat up to the dock so we could get off. In an effort to help get the boat to shore, Mr. Crackers and his cousin jumped into the water (it was only about 4 feet deep this close to beach) and tried to help guide the boat in.
It was at this point that things took a downward slide. My father-in-law, worried he would hit his son with the boat since he couldn't see him, began yelling to Mr. Crackers to be careful. Then the rest of the family, my self included, started also yelling out helpful phrases like " Watch out!" and "Be careful!" and "Your Dad can't see you!" and even "Please don't get hit by the boat!". None of which the guys in the water could hear anyway over the sound of the wind and the rain and the thunder.
At some point during this melee, some family members on board the boat decided to hold hands and start praying. Out loud. Just as they finished the phrase, "Hail Mary, Full of Grace", my 7 year old son C reached his breaking point, and began to cry...loudly. He was truly freaked out by the lightning, the wind, the rain, our inability to dock and...the final straw - the sight of several family members with joined hands saying their prayers. I'm sure he thought we were all doomed. And, I have to admit that by now my nerves were starting to fray at the edges a bit too.
Finally the guys got the boat docked and I took the 2 kids and ran like a crazy person into the woods adjacent to lake for shelter. I know, you're saying "Mrs. Crackers don't you know that you aren't supposed to stand under a tree during an electrical storm?"
Yes, yes I did know that. And I'm here to tell you that when faced with a metal boat on open water, the middle of a sandy beach or under a group of trees as places to stand in the middle of a fierce thunderstorm I choose the trees every time.
I noticed two things once we were standing huddled together under the semi-cover of the trees. 1. I had lost one of my shoes in the mad dash off the boat.
2. We were standing in an area where the ground was covered with copious amounts of poison ivy.
I realize now that it was a bad idea to announce the fact that we were standing in poison ivy within earshot of my already somewhat hysterical son, but at that moment I wasn't really thinking ahead. My announcement seemed to just push him that much farther over the edge. Even after I tried to point out that he was in fact wearing shoes, it was for naught. He had already been through enough. So I cuddled him a bit closer and wisely shut my mouth.
Happily, there was no hail and like most summer storms, it was over pretty quickly. I think we were probably only hovered under the trees for about 8 minutes when it was all said and done. Mr. Crackers and a lot of the other guys stayed out in the storm by the boats the whole time. I'm not sure why since they were all tied up, but I think it has something to do with testosterone.
Once the sun started peaking out from the clouds, we headed back for the boats. I think by that time all of us were pretty much done with the boating trip, so we found some seats at steered the boat for the marina.
After everyone got a chance to dry off and change clothes, we had a great time back at my in-laws lake house (well, it isn't really a house and it's not really on the lake, but that's what I call it since it's not their primary residence and honestly I'm not sure how else to refer to it). Everyone brought a dish for the potluck dinner and the kids had a blast running around and playing with their cousins.
In the course of the day, only about 30 minutes of our time was spent on the storm. The rest of our time on the lake was relaxing and fun (and delicious!), but I don't think any of us will be forgetting this year's outing for quite some time.
