STORY TIME!!!!!! The following is based on a true event.

3 Hour Tour

This Monday morning started as any other with Dad reading the newspaper and Mom making breakfast, except they never do that which is what made it like any other. Family was staying over and the house was packed, but everyone continued forth in good spirits. I woke up with a pain in my ear that could only be caused by an ear infection leaving me with no other choice than to announce my inability to go on the boat ride with the rest of the family. Mom and I dropped the others off  at the harbor and pooted off to Urgent Care. Moments following our departure we received a call that the boat broke down. Let me explain:

The night before the men said "We, the manly men, know how to drive the boat but still have to go to boat training. We shall go to this training so you, the women plus Robert (brother 3), can come later with the food, water and sunblock."

So the guys (Dad, David (brother 1), Danny (brother-in-law), and Dylan (nephew 1) were already in the boat and were stranded in the middle of the lake with no food, water nor sunblock.... It took about two hours before they were rescued and bestowed with a new boat making it so they could again head towards the harbor. Mother, wanting the house to herself and not caring about my pain, said that I had to go on the boat  for some "family bonding" time. I reminded her of my statements the night before, how our adventure would turn into a Gilligan's Island experience and how the men already experienced difficulties, but she insisted. 

With my swimsuit on I got in the car and drove with the rest of the family to the dock where we met the slightly more red men. We got on the boat and sailed away into one of the biggest nightmares one could ever face. The water was peaceful, and the sun was shining bright, encouraging everyone to go swimming except for Dad and me. There was laughter as people idly paddled in the water. Once satisfied the tubing began, starting with young Collin (nephew 2).  Joy was felt throughout the boat as everyone took a turn, that is, until a dark, ominous cloud appeared, covering the once bright sun. The wind picked up and the temperature dropped. Lightening was spotted in the distance and concerned looks were exchanged.

"What do we do?" the manly men turned to my father, only to receive a shrug of the shoulders. Panic started to set in, when suddenly another boat next to a small, tree filled island (so small that it would take only 10 steps to walk the whole thing). Figuring the other boaters knew what they were doing, we set anchor and waited, and waited, and waited. Twenty minutes had passed but there was still no rain. Ten more minutes passed and the other, much faster, boat pulled up their anchor and sped away, leaving us alone and frightened. A large gust of wind sent fluffs from the trees flying into our boat, an almost beautiful sight. "Look at all the bugs." our nephews said, pointing at the cloud of fluff. "Those aren't bugs," we all responded, "it's just some..... BUGS!!!!!!" Bugs were everywhere, our eyes, our mouths and our noses. Some began the bug dance, while others tried covering their faces with towels and ducked. Thus began our three hour tour.

"This can't get any worse." Niki (sister 1) said, receiving dirty looks and scowls from the others, due to her being able to jinx any situation. True to her cursed powers, rain began dumping from the skies. Normally, North Carolina receives warm, heavy rain, but this was cold, never ending rain. Under a unhelpful tarp, the young couple (Robert and Ember (sister-in-law) covered and protected the innocent nephews while David held on to Phyli (future sister-in-law). Stephen (brother 4), in the wide open, sat calmly, hidden under his towel with a juice box, while Niki and Danny sat wishing they never came. The anchor never caught and we kept drifting away from the island forcing David and Danny to keep moving us back. In light of things, I, with the begrudging help of Stephen, tried reenacting the scene from the Titanic, only to have me slip and almost go over board. into the churning waters of death itself.

Let me speed this up, fast forward. It kept raining, it was cold and everyone was miserable. Finally the sun came out but nothing was dry for another hour. The tubing continued and nobody got hurt, but my ear infection did get worse. Realistically, the storm wasn't even a strong one but considering we were in the middle of a large body of water it was slightly nerve-racking.

The End

P.S. Mom- I'm still mad at you.   

What it felt like