March 10th
On Lake Taupo
We bounced out early and hooked the boat up for a day out on the lake. Robert backed the boat down the ramp and we pushed it off the trailer and pulled it over to the dock. Everyone loaded up and waited for Robert to get back from parking the Rav. He jumped in the boat and immediately started patting his pockets for the boat keys.
After a short trip back to the house, he returned with the boat keys. He inserted the key and cranked the motor over…..About 3 or 4 times. That’s right…..The battery was dead.
After another trip back to the house for some tools, we pulled the battery out of Roberto and Kerrie’s rental car and jump started the boat. We left the spare battery in the boat, just in case.
We made our way out onto the lake and over to some Mauri carvings. They were done over 20 years ago by some carving students, and are only viewable from the water. The carvings are amazing and a popular place for tour boats.
After we viewed the carvings, we broke out the fishing poles and began trolling for Rainbow Trout. After an hour of not even a single strike, we stopped the boat and ate lunch. We had just finished eating lunch and were about to start fishing again when we noticed all of the white caps out on the lake. Annita and I crawled up in the front part of the boat where it was covered and made ourselves comfortable for the rough ride home.
Once back at the house, the wind died down and the lake returned to glass. Typical.
Lee and Ian made their appearance at the house that night. We drank wine (OK, they drank wine, I drank Heiniken) and ate cheese and crackers before supper. Later, we inflated an air mattress for Lee and Ian to sleep on the floor beside the nice warm comfortable bed that Annita and I shared. It was like being a kid again. It took a couple of hours for us to quit joking and laughing hard enough that we were able to go to sleep. And it didn’t take long, the lights hadn’t been out for 10 seconds when Ian loudly whispered, “Remember Lee, it’s ‘Oh Ian, you’re so big, you’re so strong.’” The room erupted into laughter, and it continued for quite some time.