On the Lake

We lived in Charleston, South Carolina for about 5 years. During that time, I bought a small 17 foot Bayliner runabout. It had an open bow, and 85 HP outboard engine, a decent sound system and provided great fun for the family. On the weekends, we'd take the boat up to Lake Moultrie to ski, waterboard, and tube with the kids, and we'd often throw the grill in the back of the truck as well so we'd have a whole day of fun cooking out and playing on the water.

Lake Moultrie was a large man-made lake full of small islands that had a number of secluded beaches where we could anchor for a day of play. Wanda and I weren't able to get to the lake too often by ourselves, but during the last couple of years we were in Charleston, the kids started spending a couple of weeks each summer with their grandparents, and that gave us the rare opportunity to visit the lake and some of the islands alone. During those lazy summer days, we could sunbathe and swim without worrying which child was too far down the beach, too far out into the water, or getting into too much trouble. Instead, we were able to enjoy out time together and I had ample opportunity to photograph my lovely wife.

We did several photo shoots on these islands, and Wanda would often pose and sunbath nude or in very small bikinis. I certainly had no issues with that. Some of my favorite memories and photos are from those lazy days both without and with the kids.

After we left Charleston we moved to Orlando, Florida for 3 years, and the boat came in quite handy there as well, though the lakes were a bit smaller and harder to navigate and isolated and secluded islands were very difficult to find.  We did spend more time at the ocean beaches, especially Canaveral National Seashore, but the boating days were the best.

We finally sold the boat when we left Florida and moved to Connecticut since we knew we would seldom have the opportunity to boat while we lived in New England, at least not like we did in South Carolina and Florida. There are often times, however, when I wonder if I should buy another.