roy, ahoy!

So, my husband has always wanted a boat. He grew up spending most of his time at the cottage with his grandfather touring around the lake on their boat. It is an activity that holds plenty of fond memories for him, and one that he's always wanted to recreate for our own kids.

While my childhood wasn't filled with boating or a cottage, we spent most summers with our family in Florida. I rode my first jet-ski around the age of 7 and was completely hooked. Of course the weather in Florida is a little more conducive to water sports than it is in Ontario, but that wasn't going to stop us!

We have been talking about it for a number of years, and decided a while ago that we wanted to get a boat. We planned that once we had settled in our new house, we'd take a little time off from travelling and get ourselves a speedboat that would allow for a summer filled with rides on the water, tubing, swimming and just good ol' family time.

Fast forward to this past May: Cal and Lady M were heading out one day a few weeks ago, and I knew they were going by the boat dealership to have a look at some options my hubby had his eye on. He'd been looking online for ages, checking out all of our options. He tends to be very detail oriented in his shopping - learning all he can, perusing every option. So off they went to the dealership to have a look. Just browsing...

...or so I thought.

A short while later I received the call from Cal and Lady M. Their excitement was noticeable right off the bat, and Cal shared excitedly: "Guess what? We're boat owners!"

My reaction was not what he expected. It was lacking the enthusiasm coming from the other end of the phone. Now, please note this caught me off guard on a very busy day. Lady A and I were at home knee-deep in preparations for her birthday party the next day, cleaning, cooking and trying to get her to a hair appointment on time. Not surprisingly, my reaction was not the most positive when I learned that we were boat owners and the excitement that once existed in that red Dodge Ram quickly dwindled.

I carried on with my mile-long to-do list, and our day moved forward. By the next day when the party was over the news of our new watercraft had sunk in. Sure, my sweet husband had jumped the gun a little, but he made a great choice, and upon learning more I was getting really excited too!

Fast forward a couple of weeks, and the boat is now in our possession, and I too have my boating licence. We have docked it in a marina just 20 minutes from our house - and a convenient 5-minute drive from Cal's office. I suspect that if the wifi reaches, our lovely new navy blue Monterey may be his summer office.

We took it for the inaugural family spin this past weekend, and while the water in Lake Ontario was still a little chilly to jump in, the nearly 30 degree temps made for a beautiful afternoon on the water.

Looking forward to many more...