Today my brother and nephews joined us on the Niagara River for a day of boating and tubing. This was the kind of adventurer that justifies the boat, reinforces our decision to live in Buffalo and makes me realize just how lucky I am.
It started off a little rocky when we hit traffic on the 290. As we are standing still, my brother called to say he needs gas. Thankfully the fumes took him to the marina safely.
The sun was shining, the water was clear and the boys were ready to go. Matty has obviously grown as a boat captain. His ability to make waves, flip the kids and bring the tube airborne was impressive to say the least. At one point, my nephew Gavin skipped across the water like a stone after being thrown from the tube. Another time brought my other nephew Ethan under the water as he held onto the plummeting tube. I think it may have even scared this adventurous and fearless daredevil.
The day become more adventurous when Captain Matty let Max take the helm and drive the boat. All was going well until... we hit someone's wake and our novice driver accelerated instead of slowing down. Capt. Matty was thrown from the front into the stairs and landed on his back like a turtle on his shell. Gavin and Ethan were hanging on for dear life, Scott's jaw hit the deck and I screamed. Max recouped quickly but those 30 seconds felt like two hours. Our captain suffered a few bruises, most obviously the bump of his leg that looks like another knee cap. Max may need a little more practice. He jumped back in though with one hand on the wheel, one on the window and cranked up the Ipod to bounce to the tunes. Obviously he was not as frightened as his crew.
Max continued his learning as he experienced the strong river current. We anchored the boat and the boys hung out on the tube. Max fell from the tube and it seemed that he was being swept away. After a few seconds he was several yards away. He started swimming toward the tube, only to tire himself and get farther away. The current had him, terror struck and we all jumped into action. My brother Scott screamed to Gavin to hang on and to Max to stay where he was. Scott was "man overboard lookout". Ethan and I pulled up the anchor and Matty swung the boat around to get Max. As he was drifting quickly toward the falls, we pulled him in and decided it may be time to go somewhere calmer.
We went to grass island and the boys swam to the shore while the adults relaxed in the sun. Atlas, everyone was getting tired and hungry. It was 6:30 pm and time to head back.
I've spent a lot of time complaining to Matty about the cost of the boat, the effort to maintain it and the little time we are able to spend using it. Those days are over. The laughs from the boys and memories we made today are worth any dollar amount.
It started off a little rocky when we hit traffic on the 290. As we are standing still, my brother called to say he needs gas. Thankfully the fumes took him to the marina safely.
The sun was shining, the water was clear and the boys were ready to go. Matty has obviously grown as a boat captain. His ability to make waves, flip the kids and bring the tube airborne was impressive to say the least. At one point, my nephew Gavin skipped across the water like a stone after being thrown from the tube. Another time brought my other nephew Ethan under the water as he held onto the plummeting tube. I think it may have even scared this adventurous and fearless daredevil.
The day become more adventurous when Captain Matty let Max take the helm and drive the boat. All was going well until... we hit someone's wake and our novice driver accelerated instead of slowing down. Capt. Matty was thrown from the front into the stairs and landed on his back like a turtle on his shell. Gavin and Ethan were hanging on for dear life, Scott's jaw hit the deck and I screamed. Max recouped quickly but those 30 seconds felt like two hours. Our captain suffered a few bruises, most obviously the bump of his leg that looks like another knee cap. Max may need a little more practice. He jumped back in though with one hand on the wheel, one on the window and cranked up the Ipod to bounce to the tunes. Obviously he was not as frightened as his crew.
Max continued his learning as he experienced the strong river current. We anchored the boat and the boys hung out on the tube. Max fell from the tube and it seemed that he was being swept away. After a few seconds he was several yards away. He started swimming toward the tube, only to tire himself and get farther away. The current had him, terror struck and we all jumped into action. My brother Scott screamed to Gavin to hang on and to Max to stay where he was. Scott was "man overboard lookout". Ethan and I pulled up the anchor and Matty swung the boat around to get Max. As he was drifting quickly toward the falls, we pulled him in and decided it may be time to go somewhere calmer.
We went to grass island and the boys swam to the shore while the adults relaxed in the sun. Atlas, everyone was getting tired and hungry. It was 6:30 pm and time to head back.
I've spent a lot of time complaining to Matty about the cost of the boat, the effort to maintain it and the little time we are able to spend using it. Those days are over. The laughs from the boys and memories we made today are worth any dollar amount.
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| Max in red, Ethan in Front, Gavin on knee in back. |
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| Just starting to take off! |
