Day Thirty-One: Day on the Water at Lake Galena

After all the rain we had on the last part of our drive yesterday, it was incredible to see a beautiful blue sky this morning. Will and I woke up on the earlier side and we waited for the birthday boy to come upstairs.

I can’t believe Eli is 13! His birthday is the last one we are celebrating on our trip across the USA. Knowing there was a marina minutes from our VRBO, we reached out weeks ago in regards to a boat rental for the day. Eli loves being on the water and we thought this would be a fun surprise for him. Will went to the marina which luckily wasn’t crowded at all (I think this part of town only recently started opening) around 7:00 am to get our rental and the boat keys while the girls woke up and ate breakfast.

By 9:00 am we were out the door to head to our half day of boating Lake Galena, when we couldn’t find the RV keys. After everyone searching the RV and the house, Will found them in the trash! By 9:30 am we were on the pontoon boat! The entire marina was filled with pontoon boats of the same size along with kayaks and canoes.

Here is a little information about the lake: Lake Galena is a 225 acre man-made lake perfect for anglers and boaters who prefer leisurely cruises. It boasts some of the best fishing in the area with smallmouth and large mouth bass, walleye, bluegill, channel catfish, perch and tiger muskie. The lake is primarily spring-fed and has a spillway at one end creating a 40 foot waterfall called Thunder Bay Falls.

We were on the boat for 15 minutes, not having gone too far as the boats are not meant to go fast, when our engine stopped. Will tried and tried to no avail. Luckily, we had cell service so we called the marina and they brought us a new boat. By 10:05 am we were truly on our way for real! And if I were to get stuck anywhere this place wasn’t too bad. It was so peaceful.

It was the most beautiful, 80 degree day with gorgeous blue sky’s and an incredible breeze. We thoroughly enjoyed our time on the lake passing only a handful of other pontoon boats from the resort on the lake. Eli tried his hand at fishing in multiple locations as did I! We both came up empty handed.

After our half day on the boat we came back to the house for lunch and played some games on the screened in porch. Hard to believe, but this was the first time this whole trip we played any games! The breeze on the porch was simply amazing and a little cool requiring some of us, me, to need a blanket. It was the perfect sleeping porch too and one of us may or may not have taken a nap!

I continued doing loads of laundry (this is the last time until we return back to South Carolina) while Eli and Betsie enjoyed individual alone time. Right before dinner we continued playing games while I cooked Eli’s requested Mexican themed dinner, down to the beans and rice.
After dinner, Betsie and I brought all the clean clothes back to the RV and put them away, before we enjoyed birthday cake. Eli had requested an ice cream cake, but my choices were slim in this town. We sang Happy Birthday, ate cake and then played one more game on the porch (did I mention we would spend all our time here?!?) before evening showers.

By ten-thirty we were all in bed resting up before another day on the road. Thirty-one down, five more to go. We are in the home stretch!