Rain Rain Go Away……….
As kids we have all sung that song in hopes of a sunny day. Most of the time the rain came anyway, but for Hartwell Rendezvous the song worked. All week the weather forecaster was predicting rain on both Friday and Saturday. Thursday night he said it would rain at three in the afternoon and Saturday morning. Well for us he was wrong.
The weekend started on Thursday with thirty-five members gathering for a Mexican Dinner. It was great to see old friends from as far away as Michigan and Alabama has well as Georgia and South Carolina. We had to make a change to our launch location due to the Hartwell Ramps dock being on shore for repair. Al Olsen came through, with directions to an alternate ramp not far away. Friday morning the skies were overcast with light winds. Eight boats started out and we were soon joined by a blue hauled plywood outboard. This made for a great hour’s ride to Clemson for lunch. At lunch we met the two couples in the blue boat. Come to find out the son and daughter-in-law had just purchased the boat the week before and were giving Mom and Dad a ride. They saw on the internet that we were on the lake this weekend, so they decided to join us. We hope they join the chapter. Al and Bryan guided us around a few islands on our way back. We ended the day with dinner at the Hartwell Marina restaurant. The rain held off till midnight.
Saturday broke with blue skies, sunshine, and again light winds. Bill and Gale Turner joined our fleet, and midway, the Fesperman’s joined us for the run to lunch at Tilly‘s Tiki Bar and Grill in Lavonia. The ride was just short of an hour with few other boats on the lake. After enjoying a pleasant lunch, on our return we explored several of the numerous islands on the lake once more.
Overall, the weather and friendship made for a great weekend. We hope to see you all at our next gathering in Greenwood May 16-17!
John
