Could Not Resist the Water

Yesterday was warm.  Today is supposed to be warmer.

Off I went to the lake with my raft.

It took some doing.  First, I never rolled it up tight enough last fall to fit back in its torn canvas zip bag, so the raft was in a vinyl pile back of the garage. I had to move stuff to get to it.  My garage is starting to look normal, like the usual Albany garage stuffer's garage, top to bottom stuffed with stuff!

That's because I have three boxes of shit, mostly kitchen appliances and tupperware and CD's, real old ones, from the woman I helped move.  This is stuff she gave me, rather than take to Goodwill, to try to sell to make money for the nonprofit, at the flea market.  I realized even if I got the price I have dotted onto each item, I'd only be up about $30.  Is that worth the hassle of having all this stuff sitting around, driving me nuts?  Yup!

I got a table next Saturday at the Flea Market.  They had a cancellation. I love sitting at a flea market table all day, chatting with people who come by.

It's at the grange, on Tangent Rd. and Oakville Road SE if you want to come by, anytime after 9:00 a.m. next Saturday.  They have a flea market there the 2nd Saturday of every month.

So I get all loaded to go to the lake, the raft, the little floater board, that's broken now, so it collects water, some water bottles, and then I realize I don't have a current Invasive Species Permit.   I don't know why they are needed for a little raft.   So the state can take money, I know is one reason.  $7 a year, so you can pay out to be educated not to carry invasive species on your dirty boat from one waterway to another, but more importantly, from one state or country to another.  My raft is lucky to get out of my garage, let alone to anywhere other than Foster Reservoir.

But OK, I have to have that darn slip of paper, so out to Walmart I go to buy it for another year.  Last year I was checked once on the Reservoir by the sheriff to see if I had the permit.  They didn't even see if I had a life jacket, just the damn permit, which I had, and so I did not get a ticket!

Took forever to blow up the raft once up there.  But it eventually was full of hot air, then I rolled it down to the water, on a raft jocky (two wheels), and hits the cold water and deflates some, so I had to pump it up more.  I knew that would happen.

 I was in heaven then, out on the water.    Wind had come up and with it, out on the main lake body, whitecaps.  I don't mind.  I'm good with the roughest water thrown my way.

I got out and went swimming, even jumped off the rocks, since the water was deep enough.  However, I'd forgotten about my ear issue and the moment I hit the water from that height, pain shot through my right ear.  Oh well, it didn't last too long, just until a couple hours after I got home and it wasn't that bad.

I had a nice few hours on the lake and some exercise rowing around.  I still scream in pain nights from hurting my back and sacro illiac joint again, helping in that move.  Rowing doesn't make that worse, only weight bearing activities.  I have learned my lesson maybe.  I could not sleep from the pain last night until I got up and took some Nyquil.

There were not that many boats out, really, until a little later, then young people with ski boats and jet skiis and fisher people began to arrive.  Some would leave after finding how rough it was on the lake but most didn't care.  


I was so happy being on the water!