The Mother of All Posts

The weeks have flown by like hours in a day for us. We have been so busy the past few weeks that I have not had a chance to post about the milestones in our lives such as our first wedding anniversary and my commencement at UNLV. But now that I have had an entire three-day weekend to relax at Lake Havasu, I feel like I can finally write about all the events that have happened in our lives.

This post alone could be the start of another entire blog if I were to write in detail so I will keep it brief or I may be here all night.

The end of April marked our first wedding anniversary where we spent the day out on Lake Mead on the most perfect, sunny, and calm Sunday. The weather was just like what we had on the day of our wedding a year ago. This time, we were without the presence of our friends and family. It was just the two of us on our boat. We rode out to Sandy Cove, Wishing Well, and way out in the open where the lake was so wide it appeared endless, it felt like we were out in the middle of the ocean but without the waves. The lake was so glassy and still--without another soul around but ours. It was the perfect time to twist open a bottle of Mike's Hard Lemonade and enjoy its sweet taste while soaking in the sun.

A couple of weekends ago, I finally graduated from UNLV and so I was fortunate to have my family from afar (MN, WA, CA) and near (Boulder City, Henderson, and Las Vegas (NV)) join me on that day. Johnny and I did not want to fight the crowd in the parking lot of the Thomas & Mack Center so we rode to the ceremony on a 2007 Harley Davidson Streetglide and got to the venue in no time flat! The one thing that I will always remember about commencement was that I broke one of my heels while I was waiting with the other graduates to enter the ceremony but luckily I had a pair of converse that I wore to ride on the bike. My sweetheart saved the day when he ran to the bike and back to where I was waiting with my shoes in his hand.

After that, everything was a breeze.

I can't tell you how thrilled I am to have my lunch hour at work to ALL to myself and not sitting in one class or another throughout the week. I have taken long, quiet walks exploring the campus and a wonderful nap in the grass. It is absolutely AWESOME to not have assignments, group projects, papers, exams, readings or any deadlines for a while. I have so many things I want to do with my lunch hours, evenings, and weekends--I felt like I have won the lottery of time.

So it was finally time for my husband and I to spend a weekend away together but this time, I was textbook (and laptop) free. The day before we had planned to leave for Arizona, Havi went missing. Somehow she got outside though we didn't know when. Johnny was getting the boat ready and we had later helped a friend move her trail bike.

It was late when we realized she was gone and searched our neighborhood and the path behind our house calling her name into the dark but there was no response. Not one "meow" or sign of Havi. Surely if someone found her, they would have called our phone number on her name tag but there was no call. And so we finally went to bed and slept with the patio lights on in hopes that she may cry to us in the middle of the night. Or at the least we hoped she was safe and not somewhere out there with the coyotes in our backyard.

The next morning, as I woke up to get ready for work I peeked through the patio door from our bedroom but there was still no sign of Havi. I then wandered into the living room and peered out that patio door but still no sign of Havi. Only the neighbor's cat sitting on our wall looking out onto the undeveloped land in our back yard. That cat has somehow managed to avoid being coyote dinner for the past two years.

I sadly turned away but I wasn't ready to give up on Havi just yet and decided to take one more hopeful look outside. There in the garden of our backyard was Havi cautiously stepping through the plants. I called to her and she whipped her head around to see me. I think she was in disbelief, wondering if she was at the right house and it was me indeed that she was seeing. She dashed to me and right into our house. The best thing was when I carried her into the bedroom and when Johnny woke up, he was so surprised and happy that she was home. We don't know how Havi got outside but I am sure she does not ever want to be outside again (at least for a while).

So we were off to Havasu and our friend, Tavis, joined us out on the lake. He had never been out on a boat before so it was a real treat to be able to take him out through the boat channel, past the London Bridge and to the Sand Bar. It was the least we could do since he was so generous in letting us stay with him at his home in Havasu.

We had listed our boat on eBay and thought we would be giving up our boat by the time we went to Lake Havasu but the buyer flaked so it turned out to be for the better. We have a deposit on a new boat which will be in production in mid-June and so we have to sell this one to make room for the new boat. It is a 21' catamaran built by Trick Powerboats and can go over 100 mph. The builder has a spotless reputation and builds only 8-12 boats per year because he takes great care in his craftsmanship.

Saturday was just a beautiful day. Sunny with a slight breeze and so we spent the entire day on the water. When evening came, Johnny and I rode one of Tavis' bikes followed by him and his date, Sarah, to Shugrue's for dinner overlooking the boat channel and London Bridge.

I can't tell you how much fun all of us had riding to dinner and back. My hair flying in the warm wind of the night, my arms hugging Johnny. In Arizona, there is no helmet law so even though it was scary to be on an iron machine without a seatbelt and helmet--it was so freeing to hear the rumble of the engine beneath us as we sped through the neighborhoods of Lake Havasu.

The next day, Tavis, Johnny, and I had breakfast at the Black Bear Diner before we drove to Parker, AZ, passing the Bill Williams River to scope out the launch ramps and an even bigger mission--in search of the Roadrunner floating restaurant and bar. When we had finally reached the Parker strip, we found the bar and seated ourselves right next to the river. And so we sipped Bloody Mary's and Corona's while watching the boats and jet skis fly by. Some of the boaters even docked at the restaurant for lunch.

Parker will definitely be one of the places we will take our boat on our next trip. There are plenty of parks and the houses along the river with their own boat slip was just neat to see all these different places along our adventure. You'll have to see pictures from our weekend on my Picasa Web Album as there are too many to post here.

Then we headed back to Lake Havasu to have lunch at El Cantina. This time, we had a view of the boat channel during the day from the patio where we sat. Nothing like margaritas, shrimp ceviche and shrimp fajitas to complete my day!

Later, Sarah invited us to her parents' house for a swim in the pool overlooking a golf course. We had so much fun chatting on the patio watching the ducks, quails, and white-tailed rabbits dash through the yard and around the citrus trees.

Finally, we finished our night watching "You, Me & Duprie", a movie we rented and watched together with Tavis at his house.

The next day, Tavis went back to work and it was just Johnny and me. We got coffee and visited a couple boat builders in Havasu (Johnny has a friend at Magic who gave us a tour of their production). Magic doesn't build boats smaller than 28'; in other words, something small enough to fit in our garage. Until we can get a house with a full-size boat garage, the Scepter will just have to wait ;)

So Johnny and I had lunch at Barley Brother's before we headed back to Vegas for home. But not before we shared a 23 oz. glass of their Trippleberry Wheat Beer (has cranberries, raspberries, and blueberry flavors)...YUMMM!!! We like it so much, we brought back a half gallon to enjoy once we got home.

One final note before I end this post--I finally finished my swimming lessons and so no more diaper life vests for me!! I admit though, it sure was nice to be able to drink beer while floating effortlessly.