Here we are in Northern California, going on one year since our big move from Bend Oregon. So much has happened this year and I cant believe how fast the time has flown by. One of my favorite holidays in Bend, was the 4th of July. An all day BBQ at Aaron and Michelle's followed by fireworks on the butte, followed by our own display of less than legal fireworks, that sometimes rivaled the city of Bends display; being the largest firework show in Oregon, that is saying a lot!
For those of you that have boats or spent time on boats, you may understand this next part. I have found that there are two kinds of boaters; recreational and redneck. Now the rednecks may think they are recreational, sportsman types, but having spent many fishing trips to the Oregon coastal rivers fishing for Salmon and the like (with redneck boaters), redneck boaters are definitely in a different class. You could argue that fishing and boating is not comparing apples to apples, but here is the difference: Redneck boaters are high stress, usually "pissed off", and think they are way tougher than they are. Recreational boaters, are a lot more laid back, happy to be on the water, wave at everyone as they pass,etc. Don't get me wrong, there certainly is plenty of egos on both sides; we all like to think we have the nicer, better, or faster boat. I only bring this up as last weeks trip to Lawson's Landing was full of the Redneck boaters. One prime example of the attitude I am talking about is; I was next to the pier, watching two sets of boats making their way to shore to load onto their trailers and pull the boats out of the water. The redneck boat was long and low and had faux brown grasses hanging off the whole perimeter of the boat.
The seats in the boat were brown camouflage and the driver of the boat and his 2 buddies on the shore with their Ford truck complete with compensator lift kit, were all wearing brown camo coveralls. The second group had an older fiberglass boat, definitely not a sportsman boat. The second groups boat had been waiting nose up on the sand for his truck and trailer, as the second groups truck and trailer pulled onto the sand, the first group pulled in and cut the second boat off from his trailer. The second boat backed out, turned and headed to his trailer in between the rednecks trailer and and boat, which was still about 120 feet out in the water making its way in. As soon as the redneck boat driver saw that no one stopped to wait for his grand parade up to the shore, he accelerated and headed right for boat two, all the while cussing at him and yelling racial slurs. His buddies on the shore chimed in. Of course he did not ram boat two, he just wanted every one to know how tough he was and that he was disrespected by someone who wasn't as cool.
This brought back memories of my fishing trips to the Siusalaw river 
in Oregon: No one smiled. There was the occasional "How you doing Bob" or "Did you catch any yet", as you saw the same faces week after week and really wanted to know if the other guy was doing better than you. Then, just as soon as that boat (the one you just greeted) passes by, you talk smack about them. God forbid that the other boat lands a fish as they pass or are even in the general vicinity. Then you have to listen to; "He got my fish! He drifted over into our lane so I would have to move further to the right, and nabbed my fish!". Of course I left out the obligatory swear words, but feel free to insert any that you would like, in between each word. I wish I was exaggerating, but I am not. Okay, so I just went on a tirade that has taken us far away from my original line of thought (a trait that I acquired from Melly). Back to the "Happy" recreational boaters. Now when you are on a lake in a ski boat, house boat, party boat, jet boat or even fishing boat, it seems everyone is smiling and happy, and waves to one another as they pass. This fits right in with Melanie's personality as she is yet to meet a stranger, and thinks that everyone is her new best friend. She loved all the waving and "WooHoo's". She would stare anxiously towards the next boat just waiting until they were close enough to see their faces, and as soon as anyone looked our way, she would wave like it was a long lost friend in the next boat. It was very fun for me to watch her start to wave and then realize that no one sees her or is not waving back, and she would slowly start to bring in her arm as if embarrassed with that uncomfortable feeling of when some one waves and you wave back only to realize they were waving to the person behind you. Alas, they would turn their heads, see us and wave and then Melly would re extend her arm and wave 
vigorously. There is something to be said about spending the day on the water on a boat. The sunshine, fresh air, and just being outside makes you want to smile (unless you are a teenager). Apollo was very charming and in a great mood all day, with the exception of his mom sticking him in a straight jacket and then throwing him into the ice cold water! Mean mama! "Coooooold! Juice cold, mama! No juice, no juice!" (All liquids are juice even though Apollo knows one from the other and can say water or milk, he still likes to call them all juice).
I had to remove my poor hypothermic baby from the water, and warmed him back up. Poor little guy, he is tropical like his father and cant stand the cold water. Melly, Ian and Aden will all tell you that the water was pretty warm, which may be the case...if we still lived in Oregon. I am talking 80 degree water before I call it warm.
A little nap and a stroll around the lake and it was time to dance. There is nothing like a little impromptu dancing to lift the spirits. Toddlers are so committed and uninhibited when they dance. Anything goes. It is the pure joy of feeling the music. He has some pretty sweet moves, and some day I promise to post more video of him dancing. Late in the day it was snack time. Apollo, being a grudge holder like myself, felt compelled to share his snacks with everyone but Aden. We all thoroughly enjoyed this. "Apollo, give a piece to Aden". He would take a couple steps toward Aden, look at him and turn and walk over to Ian and give him Aden's piece. This happened about 6 or 7 times. I am not sure what Aden did to make Apollo not share with him, but Apollo sure remembered. Aden decided he better spend some time bonding with his little brother, and so the two of them stood at the front of the boat acting like airplanes with arms extended and the wind in their hair, and making plane noises. I am sure Aden is back on the "share snacks with" list. As the day drew to a close and the sun was low in the sky we decided to head back to the marina. As we pulled into the slip, the neighbors in the slip next to us were delighted to help us with the ropes and were very happy and pleasant (recreational boaters). We cleaned up our mess, wiped down the boat, loaded up the truck and headed home. 
We are very fortunate to have people in our lives that are so willing to help out and others that are so generous that they would lend us their boat. I am not so sure that I would do the same. Maybe it is because I was born in California, and Californians suck,or maybe my landlords are not really Californians. Well, there is still that slight possibility that not all Californians suck, and people are just people. There are good ones and bad ones, kind ones and mean ones. We are just fortunate enough to have a couple good ones around us, and we live in an area of really nice people, and very friendly neighbors.
I will take it what ever it is, cuz its summer time, and the living is easy.
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