Lake Powell

BEST TRIP EVER!!!

My awesome Jerusalem roommate Annie invited all of us down to Lake Powell for a whole week on her family's houseboat. Who can say no to that? I was afraid I might have to since I had to be home for the weekend but I got really lucky and I was able to go down for a few days and have the time of my life with the coolest friends in the world! Brent and Sandra (Annie's parents) were so generous and fun and they definitely know how to throw a Lake Powell party!

The week started off bright and early Monday morning. We all met to caravan down and we weren't on the road for more than 15 minutes when we stopped at McDonald's for breakfast. I only mention this rather inconsequential part of our trip because I discovered something about Stefanie Elise Tanner that blew my mind. In fact I can't even believe we are friends. That stop was only the second time in her entire life that she had ever been to McDonald's!!! I still can't figure out how that is even possible. I take pride in the fact, for better or worse, that I have eaten at McDonald's in every country that I have visited. I mean I was practically raised on McDonald's...what American child besides Stefanie wasn't? Anyway...this should probably be a separate post since I have so much to say about it but I will just move on to the awesomeness of the trip.

We drove for a few hours and made it down to the Lake in the early afternoon. It took what seemed like forever in the heat of the day to get everything loaded onto the houseboat called 'The Black Pearl." How cool is that?!? We finally set off on the lake and it was absolutely gorgeous! I talked with Sandra for a little while and then we stopped for quick swim in the Lake to cool off. I thought the water was freezing and everyone was shocked! They kept trying to convince me to get in by saying things like "c'mon it's 80 degrees" and "this is the warmest lake water anywhere." What they didn't remember is that I'm from Arizona AND I'm the biggest pansy in the world! I don't ever swim at home unless the water is at least 85. I finally conceded and got most of the way in. I sat on the top of the houseboat basking in the sun for the rest of the ride so it was nice to be a little bit wet after all.

We found the perfect spot to anchor the houseboat and Brent told all of us to get our sandals on to help get the boat in safely. He thought it was pretty funny when I showed up wearing my sparkly gellies. What can I say? I'm just not a Chacos person. We got everything settled and had amazing quesadillas for dinner. We spent the evening laughing, chatting, reading and just relaxing. It was so fun to be with my friends and finally relax after working 2 weeks of overtime!

We all slept on top of the houseboat under the stars. They were so bright and beautiful that it was hard to want to close my eyes. It was kind of like the quote:

You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.

I guess I'm in love with Lake Powell and spending time with my friends. :)

I woke up before everyone else (I was used to being at work by 7 every morning!) so I got to lay there and watch the sun bathe the canyon in light. It was so gorgeous! About an hour after I woke up Brent welcomed in the morning with a lovely chorus of Good Morning to You sung to the tune of Happy Birthday to You. I could totally see my dad doing the exact same thing and it made my day.

We all got ready as fast as we could to go out for an early morning ride. I was amazed as I watched my friends waterski and wakeboard. They are pretty much professionals! It was awesome! We went back to the houseboat to grab a snack and drop some people off so we could go pick more people up at the marina. I decided to skip sunscreen and lay in the front of the boat to work on my tan. The way I tan is by getting a wicked sunburn and letting it turn into a tan. It worked. I got more burned in those 45 minutes than I have ever been burned in my entire life. Oops! I wore sunscreen after that. :)

The people we were picking up were running a little late (they got lost, ran out of gas...basically the whole 9 yards) so we had some time for more wakeboarding. You'll never believe this but Annie actually talked me into giving it a try! I'm going to be honest and tell you what really motivated me to think about doing it.

1. Watching Annie. She is a pro. I knew there was no way I would even be close to looking like her but she made it look so easy that I figured I might at least be able to get up.
2. The wakeboard and life jackets were really cute. :)
3. We were listening to the Hannah Montana soundtrack at the time and it inspires me. Haha.

Ok...all joking aside...deep down inside I really wanted to try it but I never would have done it if Annie hadn't talked me into it! She gave me perfect instructions while she was helping me get the board on. I was so nervous but they played The Climb for me and I got right up on my first try! And then I went straight back down! Haha. I got up every time but I never remembered to turn the board so I hit the water pretty hard every time too. I have never had so much water in my face! After 6 or 7 tries my arms and hands had about all they could take (I am definitely a weakling) so I got back in the boat. All in all I felt it was a pretty successful first run. I even got some sweet battle wounds. When I got back in the boat I noticed that my leg was bleeding on an 8 inch welt. It must have come from the rope but I'm still not quite sure how it happened. I also came away with some bursted blood vessels in my palm and a huge nasty bruise on my knee. I'm pretty proud of myself. :) This is the only picture I have right now because my camera isn't really allowed near water anymore but this picture says a lot about my welt and sunburn.

Elyse, Jordan and Josh finally made it to the marina so we picked them up and headed back to the houseboat for a very late brunch. Sandra wasn't very impressed with my sunburn and she gave me some great aloe vera to use. I can honestly say that my sunburn was never painful and I thank Sandra and her aloe vera for that! When we were done eating we all went out on the boat for some water weenie fun. It was so hilarious to watch everyone go flying! When everyone had just about all they could take we headed back to the houseboat for an amazing dinner. Sandra is an excellent cook and everything was just perfect. She taught me how to make a delicious salad (my family was never into that sort of thing...) and we also had rolls, pasta and chicken tenders. It was divine!

After dinner all of the other girls got in the lake and washed their hair but since it was dark and cold I decided that I could just wait until I got home the next day. The shampoo party was followed by a 'special swim' for girls only which I also chose to skip. The boys asked why I didn't go and I was stupid enough to say "because I already took my swimsuit off." Anyway...I spent some time reading under the peaceful stars and it felt so good to take a break after such a long, fun day. Everyone else made it to bed eventually and I think it is safe to say that we all slept pretty well after such an eventful day.

I woke up before everyone else again and got to watch everything light up again. Unfortunately Stefanie woke up before Brent so she woke everyone up and we didn't get to hear another rousing chorus of Good Morning to You. Oh well. We all hurried down to get ready for the day (which in case you're wondering involves changing into a swimsuit, grabbing a snack and maybe redoing your ponytail) and went out to enjoy some early morning water. I was again amazed at how good all my friends are at water sports and continued cursing my mother for not continuing her family's tradition of boating with my sisters and me. Oh well...maybe I'll learn one day.

The sad hour finally came and it was time for us to head back, pack up and leave. You know how I always say my favorite part of any trip is always coming home? While I was glad to take a shower, sleep in my own bed and fly down to visit my family, coming home was pretty sad this time. I guess that just means I'm ready to go back again as soon as I get the chance.

Thank you Brent, Sandra and Annie for the best trip ever!