Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Boat Party on the Potomac

Emily & I hurtled back to D.C.,quickly stopping to pick up food and beer before boarding Tony's boat. We were meeting with other boats on the river to spend the afternoon and evening partying on the water. What a great way to spend a hot summer's day! A lot of folks live on their boats here and they are a friendly, welcoming community. I soon felt as though I'd known them all for years.

Once on board, we headed out of the capital, passing Jefferson's Monument, Lincoln Memorial, The Monument and the Kennedy Center. It was the first time I'd seen the sights from the water and it was wonderful not having to drive, but sit back and relax with a beer in my hand.
We passed the Watergate complex; the hotel has just been bought after sitting empty for years and is due a makeover.
Georgetown was packed with people and we saw the Firefly, a $2million power boat sitting at the quay.
With D.C. behind us and the open river before us, we dropped anchor and got down to the serious business of lighting the grill.
Here's Emily checking her phone and we soon had 3 other boats moored up alongside as well as a kayak owned by Chuck who decided to join in the fun. One of our guests was Paul Strauss, the shadow senator of D.C.

It was very relaxing to sit in the cool water on noodles drinking beer and chatting but I hadn't given much thought on how to get back on board. Emily snapped me laughing about my dilemma.
 
As it got dark, we headed back to the docks, with one of the other power boats riding alongside and heckling us over his tannoy, making me wonder what on earth people on the banks must've thought.
 Here's First Mate, Joe, the boat's cat. He lives with Tony on the boat and always goes out for the trips even though he has complete freedom to stay on the dock if he prefers. One cool kitty!
We tied up at the dock and sat chatting for a while before heading for home, but not before promises to meet again were made. What a fabulous way to finish the weekend!

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