Pop quiz: What do you do when the temperature outside hits PERFECT degrees Fahrenheit and your dad has an unexpected short day at work?

Answer: Get out the big boat and head for the river!

Follow-up question: What happens when the water is too high, resulting in a submerged boat landing?

Answer: Find a different landing that’s only slightly waterlogged, roll up your pants, shout “hooray,” and jump in the captain’s seat!

In addition to steering between navigation buoys to keep our family safe within the channel, I also love the view from the tall seat at the boat’s front, particularly when we drift under a bridge so I can yell the obligatory “ECHO!”

Of course, it’s all fun and games until someone loses their balance and almost falls overboard.

Luckily, I lived to enjoy the rest of the ride! And it’s a good thing I survived because someone had to win the fish contest, but also, the world would have missed me.

“It was SO fun!” 4 jalapeno-cheddar hamburgers, 3 beaver sightings, 2 grilled-to-perfection hotdogs, and 1 beautiful sunset later, we were buckled back into the Suburban, dreaming of the next chance we’d get to live like River Rats.