Tom and Cheryl Burkholder were visiting last week, and we wanted to take them out on Katchemak Bay for some fishing, so we asked Matt about using his big boat on Friday.
Matt got back to us at 7 am on Friday, just as we were getting up, so we kicked into gear. I started packing a lunch and making a breakfast we could eat on the road, while Andy contacted Tom to bring over our truck they are using, so he could drive to Matt’s to pick up the boat.
On the way to our place from the cabins, Tom and Cheryl had a flat tire on our truck, so I drove Andy over there with a tire jack. Cheryl climbed into the van with me and we headed for Homer to keep a grooming appointment at 8:30 for Pepper the Dog. The guys were going to meet us there with the boat.
On the way out our gravel road, I hit a pothole really hard, and then started noticing that the wheel made a clunking sound. It only got worse once I got on the paved road, and after a quick call to Andy we canceled the appointment and headed back home.
Gabe helped jack up the van, and it looked like the front shock had been broken.
“You ladies could take the Explorer, but it needs a new tire,” Andy said. “How about if Tom and I go pick up the boat and get a new tire for the Explorer?”
“Sounds good,” we said, and began to wait.
An adventure that had begun at 7 am dragged until 11:30 when the guys came back with the boat and put a new tire on the Explorer.
Ready to go again!
Andy and Tom drove out the lane with the boat, and Cheryl and I got the children strapped into car seats in the Explorer.
But it wouldn’t start. When I turned the key nothing happened.
Another call to Andy, who was tired of hearing from me by now. I turned the van to face the Explorer and got out the jumper cables. Thankfully it started on the second try.
By this point we felt like everything was working against us, and we were rather relieved when we made it to Homer.
During the boat launch, Andy’s pants ripped a huge hole in an awkward place, but he found some brilliant orange overalls on the boat that he wore the rest of the day.
Thankfully the boat ride itself was uneventful, as was the fishing. (We only caught 1, and it wasn’t a good kind of fish)
We got home 3 minutes before our supper guests, but had a great time talking until the food was ready.
I was glad for a quiet day at home Saturday.
Some days are just rough, and you can’t always control your circumstances, only your reaction to them.
