Action and Adventure in August #7: The Pontoon

I took a half day off work on Friday. This is a rarity for me.

We headed to Lake Monroe and walked the plank onto our very own rented pontoon boat.

Brother Dan captained the ship.  As first mate, I provided direction and refreshments.

Father Dan regaled us with stories of his 80 foot dives into the quarries of the Northeast.

Husbandman attended to the standing rigging, including the halyards, vangs, shrouds and stays.

After a time, we drifted into a hidden cove and swam with the rare freshwater stingrays of Indiana. It was fun to leap out of the water while clinging to the back of a friendly freshwater stingray. It felt like flying.

Then we sailed the pontoon into a hidden cave and fed caterpillars to the sheath-tailed bats roosting there.  I had to wake a few up because they normally feed at night.  They were disgruntled at first, but then seemed to settle down as they feasted on the insects.

We said farewell to the sheath-tailed bats and headed the boat back to the open seas. As the wind blew through my hair, I thought about the importance of skipping work every now and again in order to enjoy a maritime adventure. Highly recommend.