So, by this time I'm sure you're thinking… "so Abbey, when you're in the US, do you do anything besides visit old friends and drink too much" and to you I say… No, not really. You are correct. But it makes for interesting reading, right?
This past weekend, I accompanied one of my best high school friends, Dave, up to his lake house as it was the first nice weekend after the giant SnOklahoma Blizzard of 2011. We had heard rumors of over 4 feet of snow at the lake and tons of docks that were damaged as a result of the heavy snow and ice during the week. Fortunately, the weather looked pleasant, and we decided we would head up, take the boat out, and see for ourselves. To explain how warm it got, the temperatures went from averaging in the single digits last week (highs in the range of 10-15 degrees F) to a high of 75 today. In about 48 hours, all of this was gone. Completely melted.
These were screenshots I took from my iPhone of the forecast for last week and this week, side by side.
When we first got up to the house on Saturday morning we found our four feet. Dave had to shovel snow just so we could get from the driveway to the front door, there was no passable walkway. Even after he shoveled, Celeste and I found ourselves slipping and falling all over the place as we struggled to find footing down the slope. After quickly settling in and grabbing a bite to eat, it was time to go out and assess the lake situation. Dave's dock was barely damaged, just a small bit of the roof was collapsing, keeping the garage door from opening up all the way, but allowing it to open enough for us to take out one of his boats. There was no one else on the water and it was quite blissful. We picked up some of Dave's friends, Lindsay and Ashley and proceeded to spend the rest of the day… drinking (duh) and driving around the lake looking at the turmoil on everyone else's docks.
This is a video with the highlights of what we found, if you're interested.
After feeling sorry for all of the dock owners who were affected, and solemnly saluting them with a drive by Coors Light toast, we decided we'd had enough somber (sober?) for one day and went out local. The night was long (we hit our first bar just after 8 and didn't get home until well almost 5 AM) and full of excitement. We stopped at several good bars, one of which was boasting an amazing karaoke arrangement, which of course, we had to partake in. There were lots of beers consumed, a couple phone numbers handed out (or rather, one phone number, handed out a couple of times) and then a late night boozing session at some local's house in Adair, Oklahoma (population small as fuck).
Sunday was spent much like Saturday. We started boozing as soon as we woke up, putting way too much Kahlua in our pot of coffee. We picked up some more friends for our rounds today and spent the whole day, again, driving around the lake at a leisurely pace enjoying our lives and taking in the sun for the first time in months.
We ended the day with a song that accompanied me to many of my fiestas in Spain and one which always makes me happy. I realized that no matter where I am in the world, back-country Oklahoma, the Mediterranean, the South China Sea, the Pacific Ocean. As long as I am near water, life is good.
And today, Life Is Good.
