Happy Saturday and thank you for visiting my blog.  Back to the vacation on Wednesday June 22^nd the weather was a total washout.  The only good thing about the day was the fact that it was Ben’s birthday and we spent the day with the people we love the most.

A quick story about Ben on this birthday.  Angie and Ben ran a half marathon in Madison, Wisconsin a few weeks ago and so for his birthday Angie had Ben’s medal (for completing the marathon) engraved with the date and his time.

Now you have to understand that Angie grew up with a Father that just happens to think that birthdays are big deals and that the present for the birthday should equally reflect that (by the way she is like that as well.)  So when Angie gave Ben his present he reacted with joy and gratitude and I was ashamed of the way I might have reacted to that gift.  He was truly grateful and appreciative of such a thoughtful gift.

Then she sprung his real gift on him, an Apple IPad2.  There was no difference in his response.  What a remarkable individual.  I was impressed.

So like I said Wednesday was a complete washout.  No pictures except for Ben reading his cards and opening his gifts.  It was just too wet and cold to take the camera out.  Okay I know the camera wouldn’t have minded the cold but I would have. 🙂

Thursday morning the waves were not quite as high as they were on Wednesday and the rain had turned into an intermittent mist so we decided to give it a try.  By this time we were all sick of staying in the cabin so we loaded up and headed out.  By the way Ben and Angie had to carry all the gear to and from the boat because Mark and I beat them at Euchre on Wednesday evening and that was the bet.

It was difficult controlling the boat and your fishing line.  It was wet, the wind was cold, and the boat rocked and rolled like a roller coaster on steroids.  The image above is of one of the few Loons we saw on the lake.  This is the only time we got close enough to a Loon to photograph it.  I shot about 20 pictures of it from the bouncing boat on high burst and this is the only one that was anywhere near sharp enough to post.

I promised my friend Dave Tabor I would record the sound of a Loon but they were few and far between and I never got that accomplished.  The crazy thing about a Loon is when you get very close to them they will dive deep and then in a couple of minutes show up somewhere else usually pretty far away from their original place.  Pun intended. 🙂

After an hour and a half of bouncing around in the boat and not one single bite we decided to head back to the cabin for an early lunch and maybe a quick nap.  The forecast for Friday was excellent so we decided that is what we would have to wait and hope for.

Enjoy your day and have a wonderful Fourth.  Be careful.