Happy 4th of July!

Captain's Log - Day 13

Big day today! Nealy and I had our traditional McDonald's smoothies for breakfast. They're new and they're actually good! I'm a fan of the strawberry banana, and Nealy favors the wildberry.

After breakfast, we went to NTB and got Nealy new front brakes and rotors. They were rough ... honestly, it was amazing they still stopped the car. Whenever you hit the brakes, it made a sound similar to dragging a metal bucket through gravel.

While we waited for them to get fixed, we watched Grown Ups. It was better than the last two movies, but still not great. Essentially no plot. Really, it basically boiled down to a bunch of comedians zinging one-liners at each other. Despite some good laughs, you should probably wait and rent/stream this one.

Simon, Mike, Amber, Megan, and Melissa Melanie met us at the docks after we picked up Nealy's car (now with functioning breaks) and we took Plan C out for a spin. The river was really swift!

Mike and Simon jumped in and could barely swim faster than the current! Melissa Melanie gave it a shot and almost didn't make it back to the boat! I had to lean out off the swim deck, grab her hand, and haul her in! Did I save her life? Am I a hero? Probably.

Just as a spirited game of Risk was getting underway, a torrential downpour came tearing down the river. We closed the windows, got everything inside, and started her up to get back to the marina ... only the port side engine wouldn't start. It wouldn't even turn over.

We thought it might be some loose wiring, so we checked out the wiring. None of us are mechanics or engineers, so checking out the wiring consisted of tapping and jiggling wires and gauges. Eventually, we plugged the generator in and got it started! The battery was just low because we had forgotten to plug in the battery charger.

You can only imagine how relieved we were! I was afraid that the trip was going to end here in St. Louis!

Once we got back to the dock, Nealy and I headed to Fast Eddie's Bon Air for a shrimp appetizer before dinner. After dinner, we collected all the change from my backpack (which ended up being $11) and played the slots at the Argosy next door. We won a little here and there but lost it all in the end. Also, Nealy is way luckier than I am!

Andrea and Dave - this bone's for you.

Sorry about the lack of pictures. The downpour all afternoon kinda put a cramp on my picture taking. Also, I think I'm going to start responding to your comments! Gonna try it out for a bit and see how it goes, anyway.