Saturday, July 18th, 2009
Jack, Amy, Johnny
Oconee County, SC
The complete set of photos is posted here:
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/573637765KfhiDb
Our Summer Time home improvement project plans for this year include laying down Hardwood Laminate Flooring in our Den and Hall. I have been putting off getting started because I knew it might take several weekends to complete and I like to get out hiking during nice weather.
However, with the heat of the summer coming on, I don’t generally like being outside as much, so on Friday evening I said, “Let’s Tear-er Down”. We moved furniture out of the den and into the dining room, and started tearing up carpeting, foam pad, tack strips, and pulling up hundreds of little staples used to set the foam carpet pad in place.
Saturday Morning started with a trip to the dump to dispose of all the stuff we tore up, and then on to Lumber Liquidators in Simpsonville to see if they had anything better then the stuff Amy picked out months ago at Lowes.
We were not impressed with Lumber Liquidators, so it was back to Lowes to purchase (36) boxes of Pergo Hardwood Laminate Floor, (20) strips of quarter-round molding, and other miscellaneous tools and material.
As we were unloading the boxes, my cell phone rang. It was my buddy Johnny Corn asking if we would like to join him for a late afternoon / evening sail on Lake Jocassee.
I almost turned him down because while I have no problems procrastinating when it comes to getting started on projects, we had already torn up the house and once started I like to get finished as soon as possible!
However, the instructions said you should let the wood get acclimated to the temperature & humidity of the house before getting started. Plus, it was forecasted to be a beautiful afternoon and evening and depending on how long the project takes, it might be a while before I can go on another outdoor adventure!
So we met Johnny at his house and followed him on to Devil’s Fork State Park to launch the boat. Unlike a past attempt at sailing Lake Jocassee, this time we made it all the way without any wheels falling off Johnny’s Boat Trailer.
The boat ramp was a madhouse when we arrived. It was mostly people leaving for the day, but we still had to wait about a half-hour before we could get the boat launched.
Shortly after hitting the water to start our “Three Hour Tour” of Lake Jocassee, we popped open a few beers and Johnny kicked up the tunes on his IPod, starting with the Gilligan's Island theme song.
It was a beautiful afternoon, but then!
The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed! If not for the courage of Johnny Corn, the Moondance would be lost, the Moondance would be lost!
Three Stranded Castaways
No, actually the weather was perfect! Just enough wind for sailing, but calm enough that you are not worried for your safety or more importantly about spilling your beer. This was Amy’s first time on a sailboat and she really enjoyed the experience!
Since we had limited time before sunset, we didn’t fully explore the lake and check out any of the waterfalls. We got just far enough for a nice view of Jumping-Off Rock, before turning back.
Our original plan was to view the sunset on a nice sandy beach area, but that spot was taken by two dudes who had obviously consumed far more alcohol than we had! So Johnny found another spot that turned out to be just perfect!
It was a gorgeous sunset and the evening twilight afterglow was spectacular as well. Amy and I are so glad we took Johnny up on his offer! Even though it slightly delayed our home improvement project and the almost 2-hour drive kept us out way past our normal bedtime!
It was a wonderful evening! Thanks Johnny!!
The complete set of Photos from our sunset sail of Lake Jocassee are posted here:
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/573637765KfhiDb
And if you are interested in checking on the status of our summertime home improvement project, the photos will be posted here:
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/573635115uyiSEd
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