So after much ado (and months of tweaking) Dev and I were ready to take Miles out on the boat. It has a new engine (painted to match the boat, I might add) and has been on the water at least a dozen times for "test rides" with friends, neighbors, and even me. Sometimes the rides would be short, as an oil leak or some other problem would be discovered, but her most recent runs had been, well, uneventful. So The time was right...or so we thought!! 
Now the cute pictures do not in any small way depict the tragedy that was unfolding on the Hiwassee River yesterday. Those with young children would attest to the fact that it does take some time and coordination to prepare a toddler for a boat ride. We had decided it was best to go between breakfast and lunch (which is followed by nap). I packed a few snacks, drinks, sunscreen, towels, and the camara. We arrived to the boat ramp, backed the trailor into the water....and the battery was dead.
So we headed back home so Dev could charge the battery. Small debate ensues as I think that it is already pushing into lunchtime, but Dev wins. Battery charged, we head back to the river.
Boat back into the water...starts right up. After some difficultly (on my part) parking the truck and trailor, the Brownlows were on the Hiwassee River in our 1979 red, white, and black SkiTique
.We go fast, get splashed, and Miles loves it. It is a hot and sunny day, and things are looking perfect. Dev hears something funny, opens the engine compartment, and realizes that "we have water". The cover for the impeller (?) had completely come off. As the bilge pump removed the water, Devin searched for the four skrews needed to put it back on. We waved another boat down to use thier skrewdriver, and all ended well 1.5 hours later!!!!!
We stop to fish and talk (boats are LOUD!), take some pictures, and decide to head home. But the battery is dead, AGAIN! Another hour later we coordinated our kind neighbor Bill to bring jumper cables to the dock to meet the police boat who was willing to rescue up but had no cables.
The positives of the 4-hour boat trip: we had plenty of sunscreen, Miles had a lot of fun, great photos, and something to blog about!!!!!
