Saturday, July 11, 2015

'Murica!

So, Independence Day was a week ago, and here I am, finally getting around to writing about it; luckily, procrastination is my right as an American.

When we decided to go to Lake Powell for the long holiday weekend, we knew that the lake would be crowded. Chris and Jana took off on Wednesday evening to secure a camping spot that would accommodate three large RVs, four boats, two personal vehicles, and a shit-ton of people. He did a great job, locating a spot perched above a calm cove. The RV's had plenty of space, the boats bobbed gently in the water, there was a public bathroom just a three-minute hike up a hill, and, the kids had access to a nice cliff, perfect for perfecting their cliff-diving skills.



The kids loved the spot, as did the adults, and, we spent Thursday evening and all day Friday enjoying the quiet and solitude of camp life. Or, as much quiet and solitude as one can enjoy when camping with sixteen children ranging in age from six to nineteen.

Unfortunately, the holiday weekend started a bit later for some people, and, when we arrived back in camp Friday evening, following a full day on the water, we were most displeased to find that a large group of college kids had encroached onto our space, stealing the cliff across the cove and effectively blocking the kids from enjoying their cliff-diving endeavors.

It was sort of a bummer, but, we are all adults and we understand the nature of a public recreational area.

That attitude, however, became harder to maintain once Delta Delta Dumbass broke out the beer pong table around two a.m.


The party raged on for most of the night, and, I don't know if you know this, but, water carries sound really, really well; a law of physics that we used to our advantage at six a.m., once the partiers had finally turned in for the night.

Another, lesser-known, law of physics: children wake early and they wake up loud.

We may have additionally fueled the hyperactivity of our offspring with a breakfast of Red, White and Blue pancakes (pancakes filled with white chocolate chips and blueberries and topped with strawberry syrup for those who wanted it), powdered donuts, and coffee (plenty of cream and sugar), because, before long, they had braved the scorn of the party frat and reclaimed their cliff, jumping into the water and creating epic splashes while chanting the catchphrase of the college students overheard from the night before: 'MURICA!!!!

It was all good; I'm sure the splashing, screaming, laughter and general rowdiness of our clan barely disturbed the frat's drunken slumber.

The riotous start that we got off to carried out throughout the day; we enjoyed the sunshine, boating, floating, cliff jumping, and, we did it in our best Independence Day finery.






Later that night, following a hamburger cookout, we loaded the boats and raced through the dark to watch the fireworks over the lake. As we pulled out of the cove, Delta Delta Dumbass waved and told us to be safe. We were happy to note that they weren't attempting to boat into the channel in their current drunken state and my estimation of them raised just a titch to Delta Delta Maybe Not Such Dumbasses.

And, that's the beauty of this country; people of all races, creeds, and stages of brain development, coming together to celebrate our independence in a location of great beauty and entertainment. Ain't freedom a beautiful thing?
 






'MURICA!

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