Lake Powell Memorial Trip '09

Get ready for some fantastic pictures with a little play-by-play action of the BEST Lake Powell trip in the history of Lake Powell trips. Imagine yourself enjoying 2 houseboats, 5 wakeboard boats, 60+ new best friends from Arizona and Utah, and having one heck of a good time!

WEDNESDAY: The trip began with a drive up to HB to grab my new BFF Aryn Stark for our 9 1/2 hour drive to the Promised Land. We stopped for some Cinnamon Roll French Toast in the park and then headed on our way to Powell. We typed the address to the Antelope Point dock in my iPhone and began our journey. While driving just past St. George, the directions began taking us through a stretch of Utah I was unfamiliar with. We noticed there were a lot of signs saying Zion's National Park. We giggled and said, "Wouldn't it be fun to take a pic in front of the sign and pretend like we went there?" Well, little did we know, the iPhone took us right down Hwy 9, THROUGH Zion National Park. Needless to say, we were thrilled for our little accidental adventure through Zion's.

When we finally arrived at the Lake, we found that we were the first ones to board the houseboat. You know what that meant...first pick of the beds! I was actually lucky enough to score a bed every night I was there, except for the last night when a big group of us slept out under the stars on the Bocce Ball court. Uh-mazing!


THURSDAY: Our first morning there we woke up to a myriad of new faces! Did I mention that I went on this trip knowing 2 people? I pretty much played the name game all day and memorized close to 60 names. I was loving it. After towing the houseboats out to the best spot we could find, the rest of the day was filled with wakeboarding, wakesurfing, and just enjoying the water! The weather was incredible and we knew a big storm would be coming, so we packed in as much as we could our first day.

We ended the night by packing in as many people into the hot tub as possible and playing a HYSTERICAL game called Hot Seat. It's basically Truth or Dare, but without the dare part.


FRIDAY: After a few quick runs early Friday morning, the storm hit hard and we all headed for land. Lucky for us, we had TONS to do back at the houseboats. The boys built us all a volleyball court, bocce ball court, and even a bean bag toss. Jealous! And after it started really coming down, we had ourselves a dance party in the rain. When it got really bad we went inside and played a little Scum, Gin Rummy, painted our toenails, and watched lots of good movies. It was a perfect rainy day at Powell.


SATURDAY: This was my last day for wakeboarding. I had a few good coaches on my boat helping me to perfect my pop! They gave me some amazing pointers and in no time I was sailing clear across the lake with ease. Amazing what good form can do. I don't remember much else that happened that Saturday. I just know I spent the ENTIRE day "ON A BOAT!" I LOVE Lake Powell!!!


SUNDAY: Of course Sunday was the most gorgeous day of the trip! To fully appreciate the majesty of Powell, three boats full of people packed sack lunches and headed out to show the first timers what Lake Powell is really all about. Once we found a good place to drop anchor, we enjoyed lunch together and had a little dance party in the middle of nowhere. Before heading back we found a place to do a little cliff jumping and those daring enough to try jumped off a 50-ft cliff. I didn't dare!

I think Sunday was also the day that we finally decided to try out the water slides and use the Jet Ski crane as a robe swing. It's amazing that no one went home injured on this trip! We also enjoyed floating out to sea on their GIANT raft and just relaxing in the sun.

Before dinner Sunday a few of the girls snuck away to visit the other group from Utah, just across the bay from us. These fools were lucky enough to borrow a $4 million house boat with a helicopter landing pad and everything for half the price we paid. Talk about a sweet set-up. I want on THAT boat next year! Matt West, it's a good thing we're friends now!

After our incredible adventures and an amazing dinner (the food was absolutely incredible the entire time...hats off the many chefs onbaord!) we all decided to have one last hoorah around the bonfire. Someone threw a silver spoon in the fire, which subsequently got lost and provided for hours of entertainment. Oh, and not to mention our marshmallow contest. I managed to stuff 18 of those bad boys in my mouth. You heard me right! I would've won too, had it not been for Dave Thompson who stuffed 24 in his yapper! Wowzers!

At midnight, a few of us decided we'd help Aryn cross off one of her "101 Things To Do Before I Die" List, and go skinny dipping. So, with the pale glow of the moon and most everyone already in bed, we stripped and made the plunge. I don't know why, but there's just something so liberating about swimming in the nude. I'm definitely a fan, as long as no one is looking. Haha!

By the time we retired to bed, all the sleeping spots had been claimed so a big group of us decided to sleep outside under the stars. I had forgotten how amazing it is to watch a shooting star fly across the sky in the middle of the desert. While watching the stars, one of the boys thought it would be funny to tell us all about the Skin Walkers on the Indian Reservations on Arizona, and let me tell you, I was not amused! I HATE scary things, especially devilishly scary things. Good thing I slept next to Larisa and coozied her all night long!

MONDAY: Sadly the trip came to an end Monday morning when we disembarked the boats in the early AM. We tried to leave as early as possible to avoid the inevitable Vegas traffic, but we hit it hard! It took us nearly 15 hours to get home. I HATE traffic. Luckily I had my trusty sidekick to keep me laughing the entire way home. It was definitely a trip I will never forget! I'm already looking forward to the next one. Labor Day 2009!