Sunday 5th August 2001, Chicago IL
We awoke in a panic, realising that we had overslept. There was not a soul around, so we wondered if everyone else was still asleep. We made ourselves a cup of coffee, and went out on the veranda to read. In fact, Fred and Diane (presumably finding themselves the only people awake) had gone for a walk, and before long the kitchen was a hive of activity as a sumptuous brunch was prepared. (Nice to find that Sunday brunch is an American tradition as well!)
Jonathan arrived with Julie, and later on Mark and Gina Atilano joined the party. Cue more fun and frolics with the tube (Mark proved a particularly tenacious opponent for Fred’s manoeuvrings), and the jetskis. We disgraced ourselves by capsizing the smaller of the two craft on the far side of the lake, while trying to perform a 360°.
Try as we might, we could not climb back on board. One of us would manage to clamber up, but as soon as the second person heaved themselves over the transom, the thing would tip over again … and again … and again.
By this stage the small jetski (either through lack of fuel, or because it was water-logged) refused to start, and Jonathan’s help was summoned from the far shore to rescue us. In the end though, even Jonathan had to admit defeat, and he and the jetski were towed, ignominiously, back to dock. The whole sorry episode probably not doing much for our reputation for riding prowess!