You will notice that we have very few pictures for days 2 and 3 on Lake Powell. Everything turned out fine, but both days had some setbacks, and neither Lily or I were much in the picture taking mood.
I spent a lot of time by the radio trying to communicate with boat rentals to have someone come out and check our jet ski. On day 2 (Sunday), they finally made it out, figured it was a dead battery and then drove off because they didn’t have a replacement, and their jump pack wasn’t working. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out if and when they were coming the first time, and then if and when they were coming back. Lily and I still had great time to swim and play with the kids though, and the kids had an amazing time swimming, kayaking, and building mud balls they called Kol-Nuts which apparently are some type of fiery food served at a restaurant from the Pixar movie “Elemental”. They built sooooo many Kol-Nuts and were still doing it on the last day.
I was frustrated at the end of day two when we still had a non-functioning jet ski. It was very hard for their mechanic to get over to us because other people were having bigger problems they needed to prioritize (like a broken generator for example). When they finally made it to us and couldn’t help, I was very frustrated.
On day three, the kids continued to have a really great time, but I got more and more frustrated as the day went on. At one point, Lily, Lydia, Mary and I all tipped the jet ski over to discover for ourselves that I had gobbled up the rope in the propeller. I was dumfounded that the mechanics the day before didn’t suggest that we tip it over to look at it. It seems like that would be jet ski 101. I should have thought of it too, but I especially thought a mechanic would have thought of that. So we figured out the problem on our own (actually a mechanic, maybe the lead, suggested we tip it over the radio, so that pointed us in the right direction), but we still needed a mechanic to help get the rope out, because after all my trying, I still couldn’t get all the rope out. So around 11:00 on day 3 (the jet ski had been down for 40 hours at that point), two mechanics came. They helped get all the rope out, but then we learned that the batter was also dead because of all the times we tried to start it. And unfortunately they did not have any jumper kit or a new batter. So they took off again, unsure of when they would be back because it all depended on what other calls came up. At that point, I slumped over the steering wheel feeling upset, sad, frustrated and mostly loss. In my mind, I knew how much fun everyone could be having on this, our one chance to jet ski as a family. I knew everyone would love it, and we had never done it before and this was our opportunity. I knew it would just be the best, and now because I gobbled the rope, we were stuck just playing on the beach again. Lily was very sweet and consoling. I was sulking, and sad. The reality was though that the kids were super happy with the itinerary as it was. They swam and played on the beach happily. They didn’t know to feel loss for the jet ski. The did ask about it on day 3 because they wanted to ride it, but they weren’t put out when I told them it was still broken, they just still had a great time swimming, kayaking, and making Kol-Nuts. I eventually shook off my frustration and went to swim with them and I had a blast. I also remember lunch being very happy. We all just talked and talked and talked and really bonded. I understood that the bigger purpose of our trip, just being a family and bonding together, and having deep time together, was being accomplished, and that was very satisfying. I starting to cheer up, when the mechanics came back around 3PM carrying a battery!! We got the jet ski up in no time, and then the party began!
I took all the kids out on a jet ski ride and they all loved it. Then we had a delicious dinner. We’d been eating well thanks to Lily’s preparation and cooking (all I did was grill). By day 3, we had had spaghetti with hamburger, grilled chicken, salmon etc. After dinner, I took all the kids tubing until the sun went down. They all loved it. I was thrilled that I could share those experiences with the children. Lydia even got to drive the jet ski and she loved doing it. It was one of the happiest moments of my life sharing such joy and fun with my children in such a beautiful place. I knew they would love the jet ski and they did. I was also over the moon with joy that the jet ski was fixed and that part of our vacation experience was saved. The day ended very very happy.
Also, after roasting for two nights inside, we moved mattresses to the top and all slept outside. We actually got a little cold (but not bad) and had tons of bats flying all around us, but it was a major improvement over sleeping inside, especially given the spectacular view of the stars.
