Monday, May 23, 2011

Remembering Paradise Point

Wonderful weather and of course this time of year makes for some pretty special memories. Which brought up thoughts of our many wonderful trips out to Paradise Point. I believe I have given the story of how Jay got the boat, so there is no need to go into that again. It was the time he spent getting things worked out for such fun trips that come flooding back to mind as I think about those "good olde days".
I am not sure how Jay learned about this spot, but it was certainly a great one, and we went a great many times to enjoy the Colorado River and the fun of Water Skiing. Of course none of that is there now. Well, the River is, of course still winding its' way through things, but the Point was long ago washed away with flash floods. Pity, because it was a very special place to enjoy being rustic and having a great deal of family fun.
Jay had a pretty good vacation to use each year, and found it most beneficial to take it in 'spurts'. That is he would take Friday and Monday off so we had a great many long 'week-ends' to enjoy. The kids and I would work all day Thursday getting things ready to go. Paul would help pack the boat and I would work getting all the food and other things ready. By the time Jay got home from work on Thursday evening, we were ready to head out for some fun! It was a long drive. We would not get into camp until very late at night, but would be able to rise and shine early on Friday to start in the activities that everyone enjoyed so much.
We had the camper on the back of the pick-up so housing was not a problem. The one problem was I was always exposed to the dreaded 'no seeums'. Man they could eat me alive while I was sleeping. They did not bother another one of the family, but they did enjoy 'feasting' on me.
One thing that stands out in my mind is the way the kids would make friends all over camp before we had hardly settled in. They knew everyone and were able to mindle and have fun from the time we arrived until we were leaving. Of course we found many of the same campers over the time we spent there. That of course made it another plus.
We took a number of Family Friends down with us and they too learned to loved the place. My brother Ronald Smith and his family joined us a number of times. Ron bought a boat too, and Bill and Paul were on the water most of the time. In fact they got to be pretty good. Got into trouble a time of two, but were not really troublesome kids, just a bit too
energetic!
We use to take the little dogs with us. It was not a problem They loved going, and when we would head out for home, we would wet down a big beach towel and put it on the seat between Jay and I and the dogs would lay covered in it to keep cool. It worked. We didn't have Air Conditioning in the truck. In fact, I don't believe they had much Air Condtiotion in cars back then. I recall we did have a water cooler for the car when we made one trip to Utah, but it was not good for the kids. Well that was a good many years ago, and times and things do change.
Those were the days when we had fun as a family, and Jay was such a great one to plan and prepare for just such times. I believe he wanted to make memories for the family that would last a life time, and you know, I think he succeeded.