We drove 1.5 hours to Mantua Lake and it was hot but starting to cloud up. It was pretty busy and we were getting a little worried about the weather. We waited in line to put our boat in the water and as soon as we all got in and started cruising through the water, the loudest clap of thunder exploded right above us. We quickly ate our lunch and the water stayed calm. Then, almost instantly, the wind picked up and the water got rough and weather got bad. Then it started raining hard!!!
We decided we better get off quick with all the lightning around us. We cruised back to the doc while tons of water splashed onto everyone and everything. I literally felt like someone was throwing buckets of water on me while I was crouched down trying to hide. It was BAD!!!! EVERYTHING was dripping wet by the time we got to the dock.
Of course everyone was rushing to get off the water and its a narrow weird ramp. The line was long and only 1 person was pulling out at a time. It took forever! Meanwhile, Brittney had the kids under a shelter and Adam was holding the boat while me and Chad were waiting to get the boat. Well the guy in front of us FELL OFF THE RAMP! He was just high centered right on the edge. It looked pretty bad and delayed the line of people behind us. Luckily, we were the only ones with a tow rope and with a quick pull he was up on the ramp. EXCEPT the back wheel. It was stuck. So some smart guys put some big rocks under the back wheel and once it got traction it popped right up. Phew!
So by this time (like 30 min later) the storm had almost passed. We were the next people to pull out, but I told Chad, turn around and lets get back out there!!! Oh my gosh I'm SO glad we did! Almost every boat pulled out except ours and 1 other! The rain stopped, the wind calmed, and the water became smooth. We were able to get a few hours of sunshine and smooth water and a few good rides in.
Carter got up on a wakeboard! YAY! That was exciting and after this trip he was hooked on wakeboarding! this kid is such a natural on a board.
Adam and Brit also wakeboarded!
Britany said it was the first time she'd ever gotten up and she did really well!!
Brielle loved jumping in and she had her first encounter with sea weed! I thought she'd have a heart attack right in the water! She was so scared! But we got her calmed down and explained what it was and she got right back in!
Once the tube got out the kids were in heaven! They all really loved tubing!
Adam helped out the little girls
And Chad gave A&B the ride of their lives! Brit came up and said she thought she had a concussion!
This was fun!
After a few hours it clouded up again and so we thought we better get off. We got off just in time before another storm came in. We had pizza for dinner and our awesome neighbors bought fireworks to entertain us!
We had a few sparklers and yummy fruit pizza to enjoy with them and it really was a nice evening.
We were all so exhausted and sore! But happy and we had a good day. The sad ending to the day was Adams car getting hit. Luckily the people left their info so he could get it taken care of. This will be a 4th to remember!!
