Gracie Wilson

Pontoons, Tubing, and Summertime

    This summer I went to Greers Ferry Lake. The waters were blue, the skies were clear, and the weather felt wonderful. It was sunny with a high of 92 degrees. With me at the lake was my sisters’ family, Gail, Jonathan, Tom, Jaden, Mason, Cole, and Dean. The trip to the lake was absolutely horrendous. Everyone except for Gail, Tom, and Jaden were piled into Emily and Jonathan’s Ram truck. Cole and Mason fought the entire way there and none of the kids slept at all during the trip. I have never been through anything more nerve racking in my entire life. Once we got to the cabin, we realized that there weren’t enough beds for everyone. Cole, Jaden, Mason and I had to share a small bedroom made for only two people. Cole and Mason didn’t mind sharing a room, but Jaden and I did.

    The next day, we rented a pontoon for six hours. At first, I didn’t think that six hours was very long on the lake, but I was definitely wrong. It felt like we would never get back to that crowded cabin! We brought an inner tube from home to pull behind the pontoon and all of the kids got to ride on it almost the entire time we were there, only taking time to stop and eat. Cole and Mason fought the entire time they were on the tube together and Jaden jumped in every time that she could. Eventually, Jonathan called the kids back on the pontoon for a time out and gave Emily and I a chance to ride. Once we got back to the cabin I realized that I had a very bad sunburn. One of the worst ones that I have ever had. Needless to say, I couldn’t get comfortable that night.

    The next day, we didn’t have the pontoon. So, Jonathan was looking for things in the cabin that could keep everyone occupied. He found a deck of Uno cards and we played for hours. All of the kids except for Jaden watched Netflix while the older people played cards.

    Saturday, our last day on the lake, we had the pontoon again. This time I made sure that I put on sunscreen. Sadly, I only put it on once when I first got out there. Another day of nothing but riding on the inner tube and basking in the sun. My first sunburn had subsided and I had learned my lesson. Finally, we loaded up and headed back to Valley View. I was so happy to be home.

    Everyone had an amazing time at the lake and it was a blessing to be able to go.