ok, so you have to find a boat to go on. you can't just swim out there and mooch off everyone else. i happened to know someone who knows someone who knows someone with a boat. and since i'm a girl, i naturally got an invite. we head up to montrose harbor bright and early last saturday with enough sandwhich meat and bread for 35 people (i didn't know everyone else would bring sandwhich meat and bread too...). once everyone arrives and takes their dramamine, we head for the play pen which is the area inside the barrier walls at chicago avenue beach. we hitch up to literally 20 other boats to make this huge line of slippery wet fiberglass that intoxicated people can hop across to check out the offerings of other boats.
* courtesy other's blogs and a google image search
needless to say (i hope), i was a little out of my element. so i sunned and chatted with people on my boat. i eventually got the courage to get into the water and it was coooold! but you do get used to it and once i got on a enormous 12 person float complete with mesh bottom to let water in, cupholders, and floating cooler, i was doing pretty good. people would come over to sit in the float and chat a while: a bacherlorette party (not my idea), an annoyingly drunk florida fan (he was wearing a florida t-shirt, i wasn't profiling), water gun weilding folks etc. i got supersoaked a few times.
you're thinking 'who got hurt?', right? all is going well the first few hours. a few close calls of people slipping, catching themselves and laughing about it. then, a jump, slip, and thud. everyone hears it and cringes while they look around trying to find out where it came from. then we see a girl face down on a boat. a few seconds go by and she lifts up her head and blood is literally gushing out of her face. i realize who it is - my friend who invited me! it was terrible. blood was everywhere. the dj (yes dj) on the boat next to us cuts the music and calls out for the coast guard over the speakers. they come to pick up my friend and speed away to shore. i learned later she went to the emergency room and got 13 stitches.
surprisingly, they turned up the music and everyone started to get their party on. there were some more accidents, a rousing rendition of 'take me out to the ball game', a dude with nipple rings (gross) trying to get some people to dance with him (we all just watched), a inflatable hampster exercise ball they crammed 4 people into, a beach boys song (finally!), and more beer and seaweed that anyone knew what to do with. well some people threw the seaweed. and actually they drank the beer, so i guess they knew what to do with it. i was good though ;) i did forget to reapply sunscreen and have lobster legs now.
as the sun started to set, boats started to leave and head back to their harbors: montrose, belmont, monroe, diversey, burnham, etc. on our boat, everyone headed for the kitchen to gorge on all the food they were bypassing in lieu of beer. i'm glad i brought sandwich fixins for 35.
remember my friend who got hurt? she was such a trooper; she rode her bike over to meet us at the harbor when we came back. she even had a beer to wind down the night!
the scene boat party was an experience, i'll say. i'm not sure if i can handle it more than once, but who knows? if that's the only time i get in the water all year, i might have to go back.
needless to say (i hope), i was a little out of my element. so i sunned and chatted with people on my boat. i eventually got the courage to get into the water and it was coooold! but you do get used to it and once i got on a enormous 12 person float complete with mesh bottom to let water in, cupholders, and floating cooler, i was doing pretty good. people would come over to sit in the float and chat a while: a bacherlorette party (not my idea), an annoyingly drunk florida fan (he was wearing a florida t-shirt, i wasn't profiling), water gun weilding folks etc. i got supersoaked a few times.
you're thinking 'who got hurt?', right? all is going well the first few hours. a few close calls of people slipping, catching themselves and laughing about it. then, a jump, slip, and thud. everyone hears it and cringes while they look around trying to find out where it came from. then we see a girl face down on a boat. a few seconds go by and she lifts up her head and blood is literally gushing out of her face. i realize who it is - my friend who invited me! it was terrible. blood was everywhere. the dj (yes dj) on the boat next to us cuts the music and calls out for the coast guard over the speakers. they come to pick up my friend and speed away to shore. i learned later she went to the emergency room and got 13 stitches.
surprisingly, they turned up the music and everyone started to get their party on. there were some more accidents, a rousing rendition of 'take me out to the ball game', a dude with nipple rings (gross) trying to get some people to dance with him (we all just watched), a inflatable hampster exercise ball they crammed 4 people into, a beach boys song (finally!), and more beer and seaweed that anyone knew what to do with. well some people threw the seaweed. and actually they drank the beer, so i guess they knew what to do with it. i was good though ;) i did forget to reapply sunscreen and have lobster legs now.
as the sun started to set, boats started to leave and head back to their harbors: montrose, belmont, monroe, diversey, burnham, etc. on our boat, everyone headed for the kitchen to gorge on all the food they were bypassing in lieu of beer. i'm glad i brought sandwich fixins for 35.
remember my friend who got hurt? she was such a trooper; she rode her bike over to meet us at the harbor when we came back. she even had a beer to wind down the night!
the scene boat party was an experience, i'll say. i'm not sure if i can handle it more than once, but who knows? if that's the only time i get in the water all year, i might have to go back.
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