Yo-ho, yo-ho, a pirate's life for me!

I am so ridiculously, incredibly lucky to have such wonderful friends. And some of them come with an added bonus… ski boats. I look forward to boating season all winter long, and now that it’s upon us, I am once again reminded of my good fortune.

When I was a kid we didn’t have the boating luxuries a lot of my friends got to enjoy. Apart from pulling crab pots on the Hood Canal in my grandpa’s fishing boat, my water sport activities were somewhat lacking. If I was able to snag an invitation to a lake house party once or twice, it was a really good summer. I had a couple of thrilling inner tube rides and attempted water skiing one August at my cousins’ lake house, but other than that I spent hot summer days at the public beach jumping off the dock.

The tides have finally turned. Somehow, both Stewart and I each ended up with very good friends who in the past couple years purchased huge, shiny ski boats complete with towers, speakers, and every other kind of boating luxury you can imagine. And we always get a VIP invite whenever our friends have a day of boating planned. So for the past few summers I’ve spent my weekends on various Washington lakes basking in the sunshine feeling exceptionally superior to my 12-year-old self.

This past weekend was my maiden voyage of the season with Tara and Winston. Although Lake Washington was FAR too cold to attempt any water sports, we had a wonderfully day lounging in the boat while drinking, eating and talking. Dreamy. I can’t think of anywhere else I would rather be than in a boat. I should have been a pirate.