Berk Family Vacation Memories
We are back from our vacation to Avalon, New Jersey. Its about a 2 mile drive from Stone Harbor.
We had a fun time this year.......Better said I had a fun time this year. It was a very strange vacation to say the least. On Day 1 we all laid around the house and waited for Mike and Stan to get there from Allentown Pa where Mike was picking up his newly restored boat that cost him $2,000 to get fixed. We made great plans as to where we were going to go in the boat on Day 2 and just relaxed.
Day 2: After arguing with us all to get our a****s moving for our boat trip, Mike tried to start the boat repeatedly and on the 4th try the boat engine caught fire. A tense moment was felt by all that ended with Mike sitting at the table with his head down.
Day 3: Now that we had no boat for recreation we decided to rent a 2 person kayak for some water sport fun. Devon was using the 1 person kayak that we already had and man that kid has some kayaking skills. I tried to get into the 1 person kayak (a little too forcefully I suppose) and rolled the thing right over almost drowning to boot. Of course I was humiliated and vowed to start my diet....as soon as vacation ends. We enjoyed the fireworks as it was the 4th.
Day 4: Mike and Stan took off at about 9 am to take the boat back to Allentown to be fixed once again. After they had been gone about 3 minutes we heard a horrible screeching noise coming from up the street. We all assumed that it was a garbage truck until we got the call.........
Apparently the screeching sound was from Mike's Ford Escape and the boat trailer both of which had locked up (brakes) in the middle of an intersection 2 blocks down the street.
Mike had forgotten to take the emergency brake off in the truck and it had broken apart. The boat trailer was towed to a local marina to be fixed and Mike had his truck loaded on a flatbed and taken to a Ford dealership in Cape May Courthouse.
Mike assumed his usual position..head down on the table....until he was able to shake the depression off. I, being married to the other Berk brother, was waiting for the meltdown that usually occurs after such misfortune but Mike was able to shake it off until Day 7 (more on that later).
Day 5: A beautiful day was had by all playing in the sun. Much later, after the kids had gone to bed we had a seemingly harmless political roundtable with the usual suspects: Stan & Dianne (my in-laws), Marty (sister in law), Dave and myself. As usual it was the Liberal Democrats agaist the solitary Republican in the group, Stan. After going back and forth about healthcare and Iraq and how "W" always has that leering sneer on his face (I know you know what I mean Eric), I made the mistake of bringing up same sex marriages. Then it all hit the fan........Stan was talking about "those people" and it didn't sit well with Marty. Lets just say it turned into a train wreck from there.
Day 6: Completely uneventful....Mike was assured that his truck could be picked up the next day between 2 & 2:30.
Day 7: All is well until the Ford dealership called to let Mike know that his truck wasn't going to be finished until Monday at the earliest. This possed a real problem as we had to be out of our rental house by 10am the next day. After going back and forth with the Ford dealership for about an hour they agreed to stay late and get it done that day. Thank God!
Now we are back home and glad to be here. I had to stop and think about how old Mike is now and he's 33. I really think that your 33rd year is the most unlucky of your life. At least it was for Dave and then me......and now Mike. Beware the 33.
Sue
We had a fun time this year.......Better said I had a fun time this year. It was a very strange vacation to say the least. On Day 1 we all laid around the house and waited for Mike and Stan to get there from Allentown Pa where Mike was picking up his newly restored boat that cost him $2,000 to get fixed. We made great plans as to where we were going to go in the boat on Day 2 and just relaxed.
Day 2: After arguing with us all to get our a****s moving for our boat trip, Mike tried to start the boat repeatedly and on the 4th try the boat engine caught fire. A tense moment was felt by all that ended with Mike sitting at the table with his head down.
Day 3: Now that we had no boat for recreation we decided to rent a 2 person kayak for some water sport fun. Devon was using the 1 person kayak that we already had and man that kid has some kayaking skills. I tried to get into the 1 person kayak (a little too forcefully I suppose) and rolled the thing right over almost drowning to boot. Of course I was humiliated and vowed to start my diet....as soon as vacation ends. We enjoyed the fireworks as it was the 4th.
Day 4: Mike and Stan took off at about 9 am to take the boat back to Allentown to be fixed once again. After they had been gone about 3 minutes we heard a horrible screeching noise coming from up the street. We all assumed that it was a garbage truck until we got the call.........
Apparently the screeching sound was from Mike's Ford Escape and the boat trailer both of which had locked up (brakes) in the middle of an intersection 2 blocks down the street.
Mike had forgotten to take the emergency brake off in the truck and it had broken apart. The boat trailer was towed to a local marina to be fixed and Mike had his truck loaded on a flatbed and taken to a Ford dealership in Cape May Courthouse.
Mike assumed his usual position..head down on the table....until he was able to shake the depression off. I, being married to the other Berk brother, was waiting for the meltdown that usually occurs after such misfortune but Mike was able to shake it off until Day 7 (more on that later).
Day 5: A beautiful day was had by all playing in the sun. Much later, after the kids had gone to bed we had a seemingly harmless political roundtable with the usual suspects: Stan & Dianne (my in-laws), Marty (sister in law), Dave and myself. As usual it was the Liberal Democrats agaist the solitary Republican in the group, Stan. After going back and forth about healthcare and Iraq and how "W" always has that leering sneer on his face (I know you know what I mean Eric), I made the mistake of bringing up same sex marriages. Then it all hit the fan........Stan was talking about "those people" and it didn't sit well with Marty. Lets just say it turned into a train wreck from there.
Day 6: Completely uneventful....Mike was assured that his truck could be picked up the next day between 2 & 2:30.
Day 7: All is well until the Ford dealership called to let Mike know that his truck wasn't going to be finished until Monday at the earliest. This possed a real problem as we had to be out of our rental house by 10am the next day. After going back and forth with the Ford dealership for about an hour they agreed to stay late and get it done that day. Thank God!
Now we are back home and glad to be here. I had to stop and think about how old Mike is now and he's 33. I really think that your 33rd year is the most unlucky of your life. At least it was for Dave and then me......and now Mike. Beware the 33.
Sue
posted by Sue & Dave at
7/09/2005 10:09:00 PM
2 Comments:
Sue, I'm impressed! I've had calamatous experiences with boats before ... similarly "Griswold-ish". I was going to go in thirds on a speedboat in Virginia, with two other friends of mine.
We had arranged for a test "day" with a 23 foot Baretta (no 9-mm handgun or parrot included).
In one afternoon:
Friend #1 forgot how to secure the bow line to the bow cleat to set the anchor (blub, blub);
Then in picking up friend #2 at the ramp, the captain's chair ripped out of the deck due to dry rot in the marine plywood decking;
Then when friend #3 took his turn at the helm, he drove it over a submerged row of pilings and we instinctively turned to see what we had hit, we observed the remains of the Volvo-Penta outdrive flying (still tethered by the trim control cable) about 6 feet out of the water, prop spinning out of control.
Until this day, I still remember my embarrassment at having arranged this test drive with the owner, yet his laughter of relief after he'd asked if anyone had been hurt and I had told him "No, but we are terribly sorry about what happened, and we will pay whatever is necessary for damages."
And until this day, I always remember his response - "Hey, it's not a problem ... you just had a typical day on a boat!"
By
Lee, at 7/10/2005 7:29 AM
I am also remembering a vacation I took with Mom and Dad, Uncle John and Aunt Maxine, Aunt Anna and Uncle Wilbur, and their son Jerry Lynn and his wife Judy, when Uncle John and Aunt Maxine had their cabin down on Kentucky Lake ... Jerry Lynn found a submerged tree stump and ripped the entire transom off the back of Uncle John's boat.
Perhaps that "BOAT: A hole in the water, surrounded by wood, into which one throws money" is true.
By
Lee, at 7/10/2005 7:41 AM
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