2012 4th of July

       Don't adjust your glasses or computer screen...the first image is out of focus, and the people in the photograph were on their way to being out of focus!  It was the 4th of July, and there was no traffic this far upriver.  Worth and Karen, Stuart and I loaded up the newly renovated BigWideBoat with chairs, umbrellas and coolers, launched it at the Pickin' Palace, and headed up the NE Cape Fear River.  We stopped along the way to pick up MaryAnn and Randy, and continued upriver, close to the Duplin County line.  Allen and Jennifer passed us, and found the sandbar first.  Soon, we had the fishing pole holders in the shallow water, holding the umbrellas.  Chairs were next, the seats just barely in the water.  Small tables, from our travel trailers cleared the surface by just a few inches, just enough to keep the adult beverages and snacks dry.  Stephanie and Rick soon joined us.  Everyone once in a while, someone would pick up the floating recliner, wade a little way upriver, and drift back to the party.  We spent the entire day laughing, eating, swimming, telling tales, and pitying the poor folks on the crowded beaches.

The BigWideBoat was hand-made in Hampstead, NC, in the early 1980's for daddy.  My brother now owns the boat, and was happy to have it renovated and ready for this party.  We celebrated our freedom from the King, traffic and work!