Tubing Texoma

Went out to Lake Texoma with some friends recently. On the agenda was some tubing, some boating, sailing, fishing, swimming, barbecue, you name it.

One of the guys has a nice skiboat, and he also brought the tubes and a 1-person sailboat. But, all of that comes into play on the second day. First off was the night we arrived at the cabin. We rented at Lighthouse Resort on the Texas side, and the cabin was a pretty good deal. Very big, with 2 twin beds, one full bed, one King size in it's own room, and two futons in the livingroom. The kitchen was large enough, and came with everything you'd need. It had a nice porch, and was close to the water. Plus, the entire place was done up in NASCAR decor. Rock on.

So we get there, and the shots start pouring themselves. We were just amazed at how they magically floated through the air and compelled consumption. What choice did we have? A little Patron, a little Knob Creek, some Margaritas, some Pina Coladas, the ever present Spaten, and some Pacificos. We were doing fine. We played some cards and D&D for a few hours, and hit the sack. I should also mention that a couple of our folks headed down to the water for some full moon catfishing during the cardgame, but had no luck. By the appearances of the area in the daylight, I'd say that was simply not a great place for catfish. Not enough debris.

Next day, we are off to the boat. We toured around for a bit, and found ourselves a nice cove. We attached two ropes, each maybe 50', with tubes on the other end. The tubes had handles to grip, these would come in handy soon enough. First round was me in one tube, and my friend's son in the other. The boat gets to making circles around the entrance of the cove in about 11'+ deep water. As the speed increases, so does the grip on those handles as we fight to maintain balance. Here and there, you crash against the wake left by the boat, and your only hope is to hike up on the tube and lean back. Then, he straightens out, and the two tubes collide in the center. On and on, until we wipe out often enough that we can no longer feel our arms.

At one point, one of the tubes fell apart, and our fishers get on one tube together. Now, that was a sight to see. I still can't believe that they were able to balance for as long as they did, but maybe the weight of two was the key.

There was no drinking that night.

Next day, we head out to break in the sailboat. Everyone takes their turn, and I am last. It's just as well, since I take to it and have no one waiting for it to come back. So, I headed out for the open water. It was just me, the wind, the sail, in 40' of water and no experience in turning a sailboat. A couple of times, I was nearly smacked by the sail as I turned and it found wind on the other side. A little evasive maneuvering (a la Matrix) and I avoided concussion. I quickly learned how to move around on the boat to make sure the wind would not tip it over. Even so, it was one of the most relaxing experiences ever.

After that, we all headed home. I could still feel the waves as I laid down in my bed.