Sailing (or at least trying to)

Andrew is on a sailing crew and I had mentioned that I really wanted to go sailing so he took Lisa and I for his Wednesday night race. He sails at the Minnetonka Yacht Club, which is located in an extremely gorgeous, picture perfect location that has lots of little islands and a small boat to ferry you around between the islands.

The plan was for us to go for a ride around the lake before the race started, then to watch then race and then have dinner there with the other club members. There was a slight snag in our plan: there was no wind! We tried to take the boat out but we didn't get very far. We waited for Andrew's race to start but it got cancelled because there was no wind. I got a chance to meet his crew members, who were all very friendly. We had dinner on a cute little island that had the club house on it. On Wednesdays the crews take turns preparing a big barbecue meal for everyone and they call in the "Grill and Chill". I was expecting some sort of burgers and potato salad, you know, standard barbecue items. The food they had on offer was SO good...grilled tilapia and grilled chicken, grilled delicious veggies and a very fresh salad with good cheese and olives. Yummy! For dessert we had lemon sorbet topped with very fresh, succulent blueberries. It was delicious...and in a gorgeous setting, with long tables set out on the island as the sun set.

We saw the most fantastic thing while we were eating dinner: a flying bicycle/hot air balloon contraption flying over our heads. I am not joking! The whole time we were at the lake sailing, I felt like I was in a movie about an idyllic American life. The whole thing was picture perfect..."All-American" types in khaki shorts and canvas boat shoes and other preppie gear cavorting around on yachts and being ferried between islands by "All-American" respectful and courteous teenagers for abundant and elegant grilled feasts and casual chit chat about boats. It was like being a movie, and then the unbelievable happened. A flying bicycle flew over our heads that seemed to be suspended from a hot air balloon! Then I really felt like I was in a movie, like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or something. It was great! I have never before seen a flying bicycle...that alone was worth the trip to Minneapolis!


Two very stoic people holding ice cream bars...It's hilarious 


Hoisting the Sail 


Helping another sailor 


The island where we ate dinner 


The end of the day