We called our awesome friend Chris when we were about two hours out of Chicago and yelled into the phone: WE'RE DRIVING ACROSS THE COUNTRY. WE'RE JUST OUTSIDE CHICAGO. WE'RE COMING OVER. WE WANT FOOD AND BEER. He called back a little later and we could hear his kids in the background going nuts. "Cool. You're coming over?" I was so bummed that the schedule was so tight and that we were just joking.
Well, this weekend I finally got to visit Chris for some serious fun.
Rather than Chicago, though, it was in sunny New Hampshire at his place on Lake Winnipesaukee, where we spent so many summers boating and waterskiing as kids. Now the joy is to be passing it on to the next generation, which includes his wonderful kids and all the children of our childhood friends. It's quite a group!
Back in the day, we were avid waterskiers. We skied "doubles" behind a grape-colored 14-foot MFG with a 65 HP Evinrude -- each on one ski with everyone crowded into the front of the boat so it could eventually plane. It would take a deep breath and well over 300 feet for us to get up on the water, but once we did, it was spray fights galore. We'd spend hours trying to blast each other with the spray from our waterskis.
Now the newest rage is wake surfing. And Chris now has the ultimate rig for it: this bad-ass Malibu wake boat, specially designed to create huge wakes. It has 3 ballast tanks in the hull that can be emptied and filled with the push of a button to add weight to either side. And there's no more waiting for the skimpy Evinrude to eventually pull us out of the water. This bad boy has a massive 350 HP 5.7 liter V-8 "Monsoon" engine that sounds like a souped-up Corvette. You are standing on top of the water in a split second.
The other cool thing is the stereo system which is like your own personal rock concert on the water. Multiple speakers, sub woofers, pre-amps, satellite radio, CD player . . . pretty sweet.
3 days in a row, we wake surfed with the kids until the sun went down. His young son Robbie picked it up just this week. He practically went from "No to Pro" in 5 days, meaning just 5 days ago he didn't want to try it. Yesterday he was surfing on and off the swim platform as if he'd been doing it for years and doing submerged water starts like a pro. Incredible.
This is a shot of him in the zone, completely focused on keeping the board floating in the belly of the wave. It's so cool to watch. It looks like magic.
The most humbling thing happened late the day yesterday. Robs and I were having another one of our serious, high-level chats, this time about the complexities of relationships with women (he's 12). Robs is incredibly intelligent and has a fantastic mind. We talked non-stop for about 45 minutes. Then he went off and talked to his dad on the dock. Chris came back and said that Robbie wanted to know that if something bad should ever happen to his parents if I would be his guardian.
Humbling is the only way I can really describe my reaction. I was blown away by it, and I prefer to trust that my services will never be needed. But what else could I say but "Of course!"
No probs, Robs.
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