I am taking a few days off to spend with my boys and a few family members and wound up spending an entire Sunday to prepare for just a few days up north.

Either I'm just getting old and set in my ways or better at preparing for a vacation than when I was younger but I believe this was the first time I have ever taken an entire day to get ready for a vacation.

Maybe its because this year I am taking my pontoon boat with us to spend some extra time on the water with the boys and their cousin but I guess I should have gotten the boat out earlier this summer.

I have spent most of my free time this summer working a landscaping project around the house or fishing and or swimming with my son Evan so I have not gotten out the pontoon boat this year.

Another reason I didn't get the boat out was, I was going to get slip to put it on this year, then the pandemic kicked in and because of the uncertainty and how much it costs to winterize the boat I was just gonna leave it in the barn this year and try again next year.

Since the boys and I are only going a little north to Arcadia, Michigan, I thought it would be nice to take the pontoon up to do some fishing, cruising and pulling the kids around on the raft.

I spent the good part of a day unwrapping the pontoon boat but I will say the place that winterized the boat did a hell of a job. Still looks brand new and no critters got in...remember, I kept it in an old barn over the winter.

Then I began putting the original cover back on while charging the boats batteries.

So while the boat charged I went shopping. To feed a 7-year-old and an 18-year-old, you need a variety of food for a week, snacks for the drive and perhaps a few new shirts and pairs of shorts.

When I got back from shopping, I finished loading the boat with extra life preservers and fishing gear. Then I began to pack.

So I packed up my clothes and extra stuff for the little guy. One good thing, the older boy, Isaak, he can pack his own stuff which is nice but I still have to remind him of things to bring...especially stuff like warmer clothes in case it gets cold or extra stuff in case it rains.

I have packed one cooler already but it looks like we will need another one packed and I have all the dry goods ready to go but I spent about 10 hours preparing for these few days on the water and hopefully it doesn't take a whole day to just unpack.

Needless to say, I know trouble going to sleep after spending a day preparing for vacation week. I guess I'll find out if I need another day or two off when we return next Sunday.

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