While this whole weekend is a family filled weekend, Saturday is the only day where everyone is here for the whole day. We declare it this year’s reunion day! Aunt Joyce rented a pontoon boat for a few hours out in Norris Lake. Certainly not a paddle boat, like Mom told Lori. That would be one hell of a day for our crew. Aunt Joyce also gifted us Autumn Olive Camping t-shirts; she’s the best. Everyone piles into someones car and we set off! The ride took longer than anticipated due to A) construction and B) one wrong turn. Cousin Josh is driving the car I’m in and he tells us (after we’re on the road) that in Tennessee the law is that a passenger in the car can drink, just not the driver. Good to know. I actually just now looked this up to verify and there are 7 other states where this is legal. In fact, in Mississippi the driver can also drink, so long as his/her BAC is under .08%. The more you know.
The drive into the Norris Lake area is beautiful. The water is crystal blue, mountains surround the lake, and, I notice, there are many spots to camp in an RV. Our pontoon boat was docked and waiting for my family to come aboard, complete with an upper deck and a slide. The employee gave cousin Ryan, our captain, the run down of rules and we were on our merry way. He points us toward a small island on the Lake and we cruise out to it. Have I mentioned how beautiful it is? I would love to look into the nice houses on the bank that have big decks on the water. We get to a stopping point and notice there is no anchor, which is annoying since the boat drifts and Ryan has to keep adjusting it to stay within the guidelines. I ventured upstairs with dreams of laying out on the top deck and soaking up the sun, but it was quite rocky up there. Everyone's ready to get in the water and swim the day away; one cousin jumps off the top, one child goes down the slide, others jump in off the side. The weather isn’t too hot and the water temperature is just right and everything about this day is coming together nicely. More people take turns jumping off the top and the sides and going down the slide with the GoPro.
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| Photo credit: Heather |
Someone breaks out the sandwich fixin’s for lunch and Ryan takes us to a cove type of spot. There are rock, big branches, and trees along the land so a couple people swim over and check it out. Cousins Heather and Linda, sister Lori, and I jump in and swim to the darker sand in the middle of the cove. The swim is further than it looks, but we all grew up swimming so it’s no big deal, just a lot of fun. As we get closer Lori points out the big ole snapping turtle a few yards away from it and we all look in just enough time to see its head disappear underwater. We freak out, partly laughing, partly panicking, and wondering about the habits of snapping turtles. Heather latches onto Lori and refuses to go anywhere. Once we get it together we continue to swim toward our goal. Lori gets to a depth where she can reach the bottom and the ‘sand’ is a slimy, mucky consistency. Some of the big branches extend into the water so we sit and observe from those. Some of the kids and Mom join us out there and we attempt to get them to stand in the squishy sand too. After a while we head towards the boat, but aren’t quite ready to get on. This type of get together only happens every 5 years and we are enjoying each others company and this lake too much. Captain Ryan has had it and is threatening to leave us and we reluctantly and slowly go back to the boat. It was a great day catching up and goofing off with the fam.
The ride home was a blast for Heather, Lori, and I in the back of Josh’s car bar car. I’m pretty sure the whole family is sunburned and tired by the time we get back, but no one is ready to call it a night. We change into comfy clothes, the board games come out, and the TV comes on. The kids are bouncing balls and riding bikes and having fun outside. The day was absolutely a success and I can’t wait to do some variation of this again in another 5 years. There's nothing better than spending quality time with these people. Hopefully more of the family can make it next time... you hear that, family? Mark your calendars for 5 summers from now. You don’t want to miss out on more of this:
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