Love Shack, Bay-bee

Last night, David and I joined our friends, Marilyn and John, on their boat, and we tooled around Lake Allatoona. I don't know if folks were frightened away by the thunderstorms or they were all at Turner Field watching Greg Maddux retire his number, but it was pleasantly uncrowded.

We put in at Three Rivers Marina which adjoined a honky tonk aptly named Three Rivers Marina Bar and Grill, and Friday night was karaoke night. I was tempted to put some time on the water and then perhaps come back and sing a bar or two of Janis Joplin or Pat Benatar for my friends, but then I realized -- only not. That was thirty year old ago stuff -- nobody needs to hear that, but hearing it would be better than seeing it.. if you know what I mean. LOL

The lake was rough as the wind had kicked up more waves and we bounced as we flew across the water. John, wearing a yellow shirt and Tommy Bahama shorts, looked like a Don Johnson wanna be as he whipped the boat around from cove to cove. John is a Florida boy; you can take the boy out of Miami, but you can't take the Miami out of the boy. He's bright yellow was a contrast to the denim shorts and plain white tees of the men we saw fishing in those coves. As we flew past them in our "Winner," we did the courtesy wave that seems to be understood on the water, and hoped that our wake didn't keep them from catching whatever fish it is you could possible catch in Allatoona and still consider eating it.

*shudders*

As dusk grew on us, we were entertained by all kinds of clouds. Marilyn, a retired elementary school teacher, has acclimated well to a no teaching zone. Kicked back in the boat in her black and white cover up, black sunglasses, and matching black flips and toe ring, she educated me on stratus, altostratus, cirrus, and cumulus, of which we seemed to have each of -- she laughed as she sounded so smart -- as in so smart in a fifth grade teacher kind of smart, but she knew more than the other three of us. LOL

At one point, we drove slowly through different coves -- Victoria's Landing and Kellog Landing -- and oohed and ahhed over the houses that folks have built along the water. One house had a huge catfish on the roof of its garage -- it looked like an inflatable from the water, but as the light was dim, it could have been made of wood. It was huge -- big enough to go over both sides of the garage. Many boat houses and docks featured Georgia flags, one even boasted a USMC flag.

David: I bet that guy's armed.
Me: *rolls eyes*

When John wasn't driving like he had a bee in his Bahamas, we cut the engine and listened to music from the aptly named radio station, The River. We heard Allman Brothers, Rod Stewart, as well as Eric Clapton's "Layla." How appropriate to sit in the middle of water and go back in time.

Out there -- time seems to stop.

We did see one of the most beautiful night skys that I have seen in a long while -- that pink and baby blue sky that sailor's noted in the old saying, "red sky at night sailor's delight." This was breathtaking and as I have said when seeing such sights, "so perfect only God could make it."

As we rode back to Little River's, we saw flashing red lights on the water. At Victoria's Landing, an ambulance and fire truck was pulled up to the marina's parking lot. Folks in boats had pulled up to stare. It was one of those moments for the "uh oh" crowd. We didn't know what happened, but the way the lights flashed on the water was eerie and the silence that matched it even spooky.

At one point, Marilyn said, "I feel like I'm in a movie."
I said, "Well, David can be played by Hugh Jackman" and Marilyn finished, "And John by George Clooney."

LOL

We never asked our men who they wanted to play our parts as we were pretty sure in their movie, we would not be featured at all.

As we pulled into Little River, we do what we always do. We looked frantically for keys, picked up coolers and towels, asked each other if we could see where to step, and then clamored up the steep dock to make it back to the cars. From the Marina bar and grille, we heard a really bad karaoke rendition of "Love Shack." It clamored out of the bar and down to the water. It gave me the giggles.

"The Love Shack is a little old place
where we can get together
Love Shack baby, Love Shack bay-bee.
Love baby, that's where it's at,
Ooo love baby, that's where it's at

Sign says.. Woo... stay away fools,
'cause love rules at the Lo-o-ove Shack!
Well it's set way back in the middle of a field,
Just a funky old shack and I gotta get back"

Baybee, indeed.

Retirement looks good on Marilyn -- I hope it will look that good on me.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leohcvmf8kM