Yesterday afternoon was beautiful. The temperatures weren't as hot here in Tidewater, Virginia, as they have been, and the humidity wasn't as oppressive. So we decided to take the jet ski out for an hour or so on the North Landing River for some fun. Launching a jet ski is an interesting problem. It's actually more difficult than working with a boat. Panda had built an extension for our trailer so that we can get the trailer far enough into the water without submerging the back end of the van. Last night he tried this trick where you back up into the water really fast and then hit the brakes really hard to jog the ski loose from the trailer. It worked. In fact, it worked so well that the ski started floating away! We kind of stood there watching it float down the little inlet, knowing that someone was going to have to swim to it to retrieve it. I looked back at Panda, who shrugged and said, "You know I don't know how to swim." So I waded into the water - fully dressed - and swam out to the ski, climbed on, and motored over to the dock so that we could get out the life vests and get ready to ride. Panda thought this was hilarious. Of course, he didn't have to drip dry while we were there. Harrumph.

Jet skiing is exhilarating, though. If you're going to use up fossil fuels for frivolous fun, this is a great way to do it. None of us is particularly fond of going over waves and wakes, so we're probably not going to take it out on the ocean. Rivers and lakes are more our speed. When we were on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Panda looked hungrily at Lake Bras D'Or, and its wide-open, peaceful expanse of water just begging for the jet ski. He's been wanting to take it out himself so he can do some exploring without having to take turns with me and the kids.

Afterwards, we dropped the ski off at home, changed clothes quickly, and went out to Arby's. We had a nice dinner together. Panda and the munchkins got milkshakes with their sandwiches. After we got home, I took a shower, and we watched Ghost Hunters on the Sci-Fi channel together. All in all, it was a nice evening. Not earth-shatteringly great, but a nice family evening. I treasure those.