No Rain

Independence Day went over pretty good.

It started out pretty crappy however. I got the boat all hooked up and shit, then I went to the ramp. It is a good ramp in a great spot, but parking is limited. So I planned to get there early.

And I did. But there was no parking.

And there was a cop there. And some parking enforcement asshole. But did either of them bother to say anything to anyone?

Hell no. They watched me pull into the area, get the boat ready to launch, then put it into the water. And tie it off to the dock.

Then I pulled out to park - and there were no spots. At that point, after I had already figured out that there was no parking - the cop says that there is no parking.

Captain Obvious joined the police force.

But I was not in a very jovial mood, so I asked the cop why he did not say anything to me about the parking BEFORE the boat was in the water. Because that would have been a lot more helpful. The cop was also not in a very jovial mood, so he said to me something about it not being his job to count.

I could not resist that setup. I mentioned that they should include counting at some point in police cadet training.

Well it went downhill from there. The cop insisted that I had to leave due to there being no place to park, and I insisted that it would be a lot more helpful if the cop put down the doughnut, got out of the patrol car, and did something productive.

I got to tell a cop to put down the doughnut and do something useful. I always wanted to do that.

The cop repeated that I had to leave, and alluded to being towed, having the boat impounded, and me going to the station for "disturbing the peace" or some such bullshit. I replied that I intended to leave, but first I had to put the boat back on the trailer because someone was not helpful to give me a little heads up before the boat was floating.

Then I went to another boat ramp. Where there was plenty of parking. The second ramp is a County ramp, and they need the money. So they do not care where the hell you park. You can use a marked space, but once they are gone anywhere you are not in the way is OK. I found a space on the grass and all was good. So long as you have $15 cash, the County ramps love you.

From that point the day got better. I went from the ramp to the yacht club to say hi to some people I know. Then I went to a party island to drop anchor and swim around.

More like float around. Swimming requires effort. Floating is a lot more relaxing. All you need is something that floats, rope, and beer. You tie the rope to the thing that floats, then attach the rope to the boat so you do not float away. Then you get in the water, get on the thing that floats, then grab the beer.

My preferred floating thing is a pool toy known as a "Wacky Noodle". I carry two Wacky Noodles on board. I found both of them - they were free.

After that I had to meet up with the crew. The crew consisted of one of my friends, his girlfriend, and three other girls (another friend of mine, one of her friends, and a foreign exchange student from France). It was a pretty good time. Everyone had a good time.

Most amazingly enough, it did not rain. At least not on the water. It rained like hell on land. I got various spy reports confirming this. But on the water there was clear skies and sun.

On the water, I can get really close to the fireworks display. The shock waves from the explosions could be felt through the hull of the boat.

All in all, it was a nice day. I am ready to do it all over again.