Our New Toy

After all the fun we had at Banks Lake, Ty's been itching to get a boat of his own. He watched eBay, scoured internet sites, and even checked out local dealers. One day, he found a deal he just couldn't pass up. So, a few Saturdays ago, Ty took a day trip up to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho to pick up his dream boat.
It was FAR from a dream trip, however. He left at about 5am so he could get up there around 1 or 2 in the afternoon. He met with Adam Olinger from Olinger Marine. Soon enough, the deal was done and Ty was on his way home. He should have been home around 10 or 11, but about 50 minutes outside of Butte, MT, one of the tires on the trailer blew out. That would have been okay, since Ty had a spare, but the weight of the boat forced the air out of the other tire on that side when the first tire died. Ty was able to limp off at the next exit at Gold Creek. Gotta love USAA's roadside assistance. They sent somebody out, but the closest tow truck with a flatbed big enough for the boat and trailer was 2 hours away. Ty took out his flashlight and puttered around the boat, tidied up his truck, and looked at the stars. At the time, the Chilean miners were still trapped 2,300 feet below the Earth's surface. He decided that he was blessed to be "trapped" in a place where he could still see the sky and would soon be home. By the time they got the boat and trailer to Helena where the tires could be repaired, it was almost 2am! The tire guy offered to mount the new tires then and there, but Ty said, "No I'm tired and you all deserve some sleep. Let's just take care of it in the morning." He checked into his hotel at 2:15. Poor guy. Luckily, the hotel had some phone chargers in lost and found, so he was able to recharge his phone. Ty was on his way down to breakfast at 7am when the most awesome Frank Kolar from Kolar Tire & Auto called to say the tires were mounted and he was all set! Then, Frank only charged $30 a tire and didn't charge labor!!!
Finally, at about 2:30 Sunday afternoon, Ty and the new boat rolled into our driveway. The following pictures capture the joy that ensued...
Samantha's the King of the World! (Or Queen, as the case may be.)
Zachary is very excited.
This is Tristan and Zachary's favorite place to sit.
You can see the sides where the wake bar goes up, but it is down in all these pictures for the trip. Then, we removed at all together for winter storage, so I guess you'll have to wait til next year to see that.
I like the detailed stitching that matches the artwork on the sides of the boat.
So, we got the dream boat in October. Ty and I dropped it in Blacktail on Columbus Day, just so we could say we did. It was cold and raining, but we went boating, dangit! Then we went out again the following Friday afternoon so we could take the kids. We were all wearing coats and hats and shivering, but we plugged in my iPod and tore around the lake with the music blaring! Now, the boat has been winterized and it is waiting peacefully for next Spring when it will have the chance to play again!