Found this wonderful article in the Focus weekly newspaper, and just had to share it!
My View: Embracing the lake
By Dan Field
LakeNewsOnline.com
Posted Jun 27, 2012 @ 05:11 PM
Lake of the Ozarks, Mo. —
Had the rare opportunity to spend two half days on the lake over the weekend. It was hot. It was windy. It was busy.
I love it!
I was fortunate to make boating a priority when moving here 11 years ago. Except for one summer, I’ve had a boat.
When work and family don’t interfere, I’m tooling around looking at nothing and looking at everything. It truely is therapeutic. The price of gas has forced me to cut back on day-long excursions.
It costs twice as much to fill my boat as it does my car, and I really choose not to walk to work.
So, the boat is secondary to my six-year-old car that gets 24 miles per gallon. We made the switch to a triple-log pontoon boat about a year after using my dad’s two-log, undersized pontoon boat as part of the family condo package we shared at The Bronx for many years.
He could never understand why his boat, pushed by a 40-hp Evinrude, wasn’t adequate.After he and my mom went out once with 55-foot cruisers tossing us around like rubber ducks, he changed his tune.
Saturday and Sunday reaffirmed my decision to own a 25-foot tri-toon with a powerful four-stroke motor.
It’s almost as much a safety issue as it is a practical issue.
The cruisers were out in force over the weekend, and we were jostled about several times trying to pick our way gingerly through the tidal waves. Never fear, we kept our feet dry and the boat in tact.
The Missouri State Patrol promised to have patrol boats out in force stalking the drunks and the idiots, the later of which far outweighed the drunks.
We saw two MSP boats the entire weekend.
One had a PWC stopped in the no-wake zone under the Hurricane Deck Bridge, and the other was patrolling in search of some scoundrels around the 30-mile marker.
As the kids say today — no worries. For you boaters and/or cove-lovers unsure of the water temperature, it’s perfect.
The radio announcer told me that the surface water temp at the 3-mile marker of the Main Channel was 84 degrees.
Perfect.
And, no residual effects from floating for hours in water that some cityfolk erroneously believe is tainted.
If you have a boat, get out and enjoy.If you don’t, find a friend who does.
Or, grab a cold drink and a bite to eat at any of the many waterfront restaurants. We have a beautiful, iconic body of water at our doorstep.
Life is good.
via Lake News Online