You want me to do WHAT?!?!?

Out on the river with family and Mark wanted to show us Einstein's old boat that was up one of the tributaries of the Ohion, stuck there. I was at the helm because I'd gotten there late, so Mark came back in to get me and said he'd been driving all day. Why don't you take her out. So I took her out and we went up river because the river was closted below us for a race. Yup, the entire Ohio river was closed. As I'm taking her up river, there are barges stacked up waiting to go south. Further south, ones waiting to come north.

Anyway, we're coming up on the tributary Mark wanted and he said, just take her in here and run her up onto the side. I looked back over my shoulder and said "Sir? You want me to do WHAT?!?!?" I don't know about that, I mean how's that going to look on my record? He just laughed and said "Hey, you're just following Captain's orders right? So that's an order!"

Yup, he had me sick her in the mud. Me, only the second time I spent serious time at the helm and he wants me to run her a ground. Then he jumps over board. I stayed onboard with my namesake as he, Val and their friend Bill wandered up river on foot a bit. When they got back I wandered up. As Mark said, looks like a perfect place to shoot a movie. Nice big boat, stuck in the river, and the forest is growing in around it. The deck is covered with creeping ivy and it's just somehow utterly beautiful. Also kind of restores my faith in humanity. Here is the boat of easily one of the smartest minds in history, run a ground.

So when it was time to leave, put the boat in reverse and backed it out without a huge problem. Then again I had the speed way, way down when I beached her, figureing it would be enough to keep her there, and let us out when it was time. We went a bit further up river, and spent the rest of the afternoon, evening slowly floating back down river. Had a BBQ, just doing the whole chilling out having fun. It was a perfect day on the water. Watched the sunset, then went down to Aurora Landing to catch part of a concert on the shore and watch the moonrise. Bill kept lookin at the trees and saying I can see a hint of moonlight, it's coming soon. I just looked and said, ten minutes, she'll be peaking up over the trees there, no worries. Sure enough ten minutes later moonrise and Bill hollered, "You were right Sam! Here she comes!"

By the time we were ready to head in, we'd long since gone past the inlet for Mark's marina and it's not like it's all lit up with signs and stuff. I was still at the helm and looked at him and said you want to take her, or should I bring her in. He said "You can if you want, you know where it is in the dark?" I said yeah, same place as in the daylight so I just brought her about and started heading for it and I can hear Bill behind me asking Mark "Does she have any idea where she's going?" Mark was so cool, "Oh yeah, we can't see it yet, but I'm sure she's looking right at the marker and heading straight in. As it turns out, I was looking right at the marker up river on the other side from us. Took it right in. In fact for me, with the moon being up, it was just like daylight, I was reading the graffiti on the bridge abutments as I motored past them...

Took all the turns, and just brought her right in and kissed the dock again. Bill was impressed. "I couldn't see anything out there, and there's no way I would have been able to do that, I'd probably hit the dock and made a hell of a mess." Mark looked at him and said that's why I let her drive, but not you.

I'm still so jazzed, took her back in at night and brought it right to the dock and kissed it like a pro! I looked at Bill and said "Truth to tell, this was only my second time bringing her in, and my first time in the dark. I may not be a seasoned boat person like Mark, but what I lack in boating knowledge I make up for in advanced physics and math.

I had a wonderful time! We're going back out tomorrow, there is supposed to be an airshow over the river. So I need to head off to bed so I can get up in time.

Hope everyone else is having a great weekend too!