So LONG Lake Powell...

Ahhh Lake Powell! - Probably my most favorite place in the world to go...not sure why but I absolutely LOVE this place - it's like no other vacation. BUT, it comes with it's problems and this year was no exception. My family has been going to Powell for years and each year we are always dealing with some sort of issue - whether it has to do with the cars on the way there, the speed boat or the house boat we are never problem free - but we always seem to make the best of it so we can enjoy the Beautiful Lake with our friends and family! Well, I think this year may be the one that ends our trips to Powell - let's just say anything that could go wrong - went wrong! It started weeks before we even arrived in Lake Powell when we found out both our House Boat and new speed boat needed new engines - not going into detail, because it would take forever to explain - but let's just say for weeks it was a 50/50 chance of even making the trip. Finally, we got word that both boats would be fixed with new engines and even though we would have to push our vacation back 2 weeks we would still have the opportunity to go. Not sure if God was trying to tell us to stay home - but we went against his advice and made the 8 hour trip to Powell anyways! (Next time we may take the signs a bit more seriously!)

The trip out there went great - no issues! We got into Powell Sunday morning - excited to board the Beautiful Dream Haven, but soon we come to find out that the owners disembarking the houseboat blew up the other engine while they were out enjoying the lake - WHAT!@$#%! So once again the Dream Haven was out of commission! Seriously, what should we do? Well, we thought since we made the long trip, had tons of food - we might as well just stay in the marina and enjoy the lake with our brand new speed boat! Monday was a GREAT day on the lake. We took a long boat ride, enjoying the beautiful lake and drinking LOTS of beer! Early morning on Tuesday the boys got up to wakeboard - 2 hours later we get a call to the Houseboat from Executive Services telling us my dad needs us to come to the ramp with the trailer to pull the boat out of the water - why? Because the main oil line is leaking and spraying oil all over the engine compartment! Yep, that's right - the brand new speed boat, with the brand new engine is now out of commission as well!

I think at this point my dad was sick to his stomach and I thought for sure we would be headed home. After half the day agonizing over the speed boat and concluding the oil leak was somewhat minor we would stay the rest the week, but only be able to use the boat minimally as we would have to keep dumping oil in it to make it run properly and who knew what else would happen if we got too far down the lake!

So we spent the rest of the week at the Marina living on our Houseboat and taking day trips to Bullfrog Bay to play in the water. The week was definitely not stress free, but we seemed to make the best of it. By Wednesday my dad was wearing his life jacket like a diaper, floating in the water drinking beer - so I think he had a good time with the rest of us! My favorite day was when we played water volleyball - memories I will never forget, especially watching my brother drive the boat over to the beach with the net hanging over the top of the tower - we looked like a bunch of hillbillies!

It was a fun week living in a floating trailer park - not quite the vacation we all expected, but you can always have FUN in Powell no matter the circumstances! Ashtyn had fun feeding the fish and ducks every evening - and LOVED when we would go to the beach to play in the sand and swim. Eli did pretty well for a 2 month old, little cranky - but I will admit it was not quite as relaxing for myself as I have experienced in the past.

To add to the frustrating week, on the way home my dad's truck's turbo went out, so he had no power to pull the boat over the passes! Fortunately, Matt has a diesel truck and was able to pull the boat home - safely! This could have been our last visit to Lake Powell - because at the moment my dad has everything up for sale! But I really hope as another year passes we can re-evaluate the situation and continue our yearly trips to my favorite place EVER! I so hope my babies can grow up there just as I have - only time will tell...but for now - So LONG Lake Powell!