Sea Legs

Erica and I have always dreamed of owning a boat. Erica grew up at Deep Creek Lake in Maryland and I spent summer weekends on the Indian River near Rehoboth Delaware. We met at Deep Creek Lake in our college years. I’d stop to see her at work on the gas dock on my way to wait tables at the lakeside Uno’s Pizzeria. The sound and smell of boat engines still bring back those memories.

So this past weekend, when the forecast showed little rain and temperatures below boiling, I could not resist the urge to be on the water. Zach Brown lyrics looping in my head, one of our summer porch sitting favorites:

There’s a place, where the boat leaves from
It takes away all of your big problems.

With Erica just starting to move independently again, I was not sure how she would handle the unpredictable motion of a boat and dock, especially the transition between the two. With a little investigation, I found the perfect solution, a pontoon boat for rent on a quiet lake 40 minutes north of Pittsburgh.

Arriving at the rental facility, I realized that the boat we had reserved was at the farthest end of the dock. This might be a bigger challenge than expected—for anyone but Erica, that is. As I sat in the boat getting the rental rundown from the dock hand, I saw Erica on the long wavy, wooden approach, walking behind her rollator with confidence and familiarity, as a creature in her natural habitat. No fear as her sea legs returned. Thirty years since I dated that Daisy Duke wearing gas dock girl, and she still turns my head.

Being out on the water again was a joy, the steady purr of the engine, the fresh air, sun and sound of the water running past the hull. Erica’s only complaint was that the 20 horse power engine was too slow compared to the 300 HP ski boats we were used to. OK, I thought, she still has her sense of adventure. Maybe that boat dream is still a possibility. We found a still cove, snacked on a picnic lunch. Our youngest son, Bram, was the first to jump in the lake. I was right behind. What is it about floating that washes the troubles away?