The last lake I’d visited growing up was Lake Havasu on a rescue mission with my dad to save my brother Wayne. He and some other family were on vacation and their vehicle had really broken down. I don’t remember much except it being really hot and not having proper swim attire and opting to “improvise” instead.

This year’s vacation spot is Clearlake in northern California. People live all the way around it with their personal docks. Most folks have a boat, others have jet skis and other floating toys. Ivy’s cousins Rich & Susie have a speed boat that they took us out on today. Aside from shorts having been a poor wardrobe choice, we had a lot of fun. We got across the lake to Konocti Resort & Spa.

Konocti was pretty neat. It’s right on the lake, so we were able to dock there and walk up to the restaurant. The walk from the dock side of the building to the front where the street meets it was an interesting one. On the walls there are dozens and dozens of pictures signed by performers that had come to Konocti at some point. I recognized a good many of them but not all. It also looks like our favorite celebrity apprentice, Trace Adkins, had performed there in the last few weeks. He writes: To Konocti Resort & Spa, Thanks Y’all.

The coolest thing though was the boathouse cradle kit they put the boat on when it’s home in their personal dock. Rich pulled the boat into the dock, tied it down, and then flipped a switch. Up from the water came a V-shaped brace like you see on boat trailers. It pushed the boat 3 feet: more than enough to allow easy access for washing.

All in all, a good vacation so far. I haven’t thought about work but once since we got on the road and that was to pronounce my blackberry dead and request another. I’ll tell that story another time.