Hmmm? Old memories coming back triggered by the warm October weather and running into the ex tending bar. Had a couple and we started talking about the weather and the foliage and it turned into a "remember when?" conversation. This one was about my boat and our foliage trip up the river for the last time out that year., must have been around 2008 or so.

I had a couple days off at the end of the week and I figured I'd get some fishing in before I put the boat away and she didn't complain even though there was a ton of yard work to do, so I ended up hitting the river 2 mornings in a row for some smallies. Even though the mornings were cold and there was fog, I managed to get out early and fish until noon before it warmed up and I headed home. Brought in the fish, cleaned things up, and filled her in about the river and the foliage and the lack of people around. "Are you going again tomorrow (Saturday)?" she asked. I told her that I hadn't planned to and it was yard work and firewood time, which she promptly put an end to demanding that I take her out for a boat ride to see the scenery. "What the hell?" I thought, "Sure".

43 degrees, fog, and rain showers greeted us at daybreak and she insisted that we were still going because she already packed a cooler and got her camera ready, insisting it would probably be the last time we had a chance. So off we went, 45 minutes later splashing the boat and getting our stuff loaded - dressed like we were going skiing - light ski jackets, gloves knot hats, sweaters, turtlenecks, jeans. Not exactly "beach wear"!

But off we went and headed north at a slow clip looking for wildlife and trying to stay warm in the dampness of the morning. 15 miles upstream we beached the boat to take a break and warm up as best we could by walking around and otherwise abandoned island. We got lucky though. I was getting ready to light a fire and hang out for a while and we caught a glimpse of the sun poking through the clouds. 20 minutes later as we slowly motored downstream, the clear blue skies rolled in, and out came the camera for what turned out to be some of the best fall pictures she had ever taken.

It was roughly noon when I negotiated our way back through the shallows and rocks that channelized the river at the mid point between the 2 dams, and we cruised slowly down stream to where the river widened and flattened out again. As we rounded the bend we both noticed a couple boats anchored in the wide shallow area a hundred feet off shore. Closing in, we realized it was a few of our friends, figuring they were thinking like us and it was their last trip of the year too.

Paul and Amy saw us first and shouted and waved for us to come alongside their 27 ft cabin cruiser. As we tied up the occupants of the other boat came aboard - mutual friend Joe and Kathy. They were all dressed for the cold and we got a chuckle about it because even Paul, looking like he was going skiing, usually walked around the yard or his shop without a shirt until the snow flew. Greetings and small talk, and out came the thermos for some hot coffee and the other couples looked at each other funny and Amy said "Coffee, are you kidding me? Did you guys quit drinking?" and she reached for a bottle of whiskey to "lighten it up a bit".

And then it started - out came the food, Paul lit the grill on the transom, and Suzy opened the cooler and pulled out a couple beers. The temps went up as the sun peaked in the sky and off came some hats and layers as we settled back in our chairs and shot the breeze. It wasn't 2 minutes after the first burgers hit the grill and we heard "About fkg time!" and out popped Kathy's sister Tina from below deck. "Well it's about time the groundhog emerged" said Kathy as Tina stood up straight. "Fuck you, I was freezing" she said as Kathy replied "I told you to dress for it!"
Tina, in faded jeans and denim jacket with a bright red turtleneck sweater underneath, some knit gloves, knee high boots, and a Yankees cap said "I was sweating my as off just walking to the car, I figured I was fine, besides, I have plenty of anti-freeze" as she reached back and pulled out a half-empty bottle of wine and a glass. "See" she said, as the rest of the crew just rolled their eyes and shook their heads because as usual, Tina would probably need a team effort to get her and her car back home.

It turned into a really nice afternoon, but the wind kept just enough of a nip in the air so we had to keep our clothes on. Rafting a couple boats together at anchor made it easy for us to visit, eat, and get some sun, and Pauls' cabin cruiser had an onboard toilet so it made it easy for the girls, while the guys used the front of the boat just out of sight. Until the alarm went off that is!

Paul tried to save some money by avoiding the pump out, figuring it was the last trip and he'd clear and wash the tank when he pulled the boat later in the week, never guessing that he'd have "company' all day on that last trip. It wasn't even a half hour after the alarm that the women started to complain about needing to use it rather badly . SOL girls, hold it, we'll head back soon we both told them. A few minutes later they were talking about hanging their asses over the side, and decidedly refusing to do so. Amy disappeared below, and in a minute came out in a bathing suit and hoodie and looked right at Paul and said she was going "swimming". Off came the hoodie and over the side she went into the waist deep water. She looked up smiling and told us that it was kinda warm anyway, and she was "warming it up right now". In a minute, she was obviously finished with what she had gone in for, and took a few strokes away from the boat , getting totally wet. She came back to the swim platform and told us the water was probably warmer than the air - and Tina replied "I hope you drown, I have to go so bad and I don't have a fkg bathing suit" Amy laughed and told her to skinny dip because nobody wanted to look at her anyway, and we all burst out laughing! Tina, apparently wasn't pleased, because as Amy tried to climb up on the swim platform, Tina shoved her back in the water, on the next try, Tina poured a beer over her head which got Amy mad, then Kathy, never one to be left out, threw her a bar of soap to wash off with. As the rest of us laughed and added to the running commentary, the insults flew between them and once again. As Amy tried to get back in the boat, Tina gave her a shove, and got a big surprise, because Paul had just about enough, and as Amy grabbed Tinas' arm, Paul gave her a shove from behind and off she plopped into the waist deep water in a half-jump, half-fall, hitting it with a splash and a shreik.

Her mouth never stopped as she swore at Paul and Amy for getting her wet, and everyones' response was "Like it's the first time, huh?, " With that, Tina grabbed her by the arm and shoulders and dunked her under completely, climbing on her back to make sure she went down, and rolled off her into the water as she let her surface with her hair now plastered to her face. Tina, who complained about getting wet from the waist down, was now completely soaked and apparently loving it. She looked at Paul and said "Give me a beer, I have room for it now" and he threw a can to her as he asked her how long she planned to stay in the water. "It's warmer in here than up there" she replied "So I don't care, tell Kathy get some towels out".

Suzy and I were laughing our asses off at Tina and she looked at Suzy and said "Well?" Suzy turned to me as she finished her beer and said "I'm done, I'm FULL" and I knew what she was getting at. As she peeled off her hoodie revealing the rust orange ribbed turtleneck sweater with the long sleeves cuffed back above the wrist over a white cotton turtleneck , she grabbed her baseball cap, tucked her hair up into it, and slipped over the side into the water to join the other 2 women. She was barely thigh deep near our boat, but as she waded through to the others, she hit a low spot which put her over her waist. Rather than continue wading through it, typical Suzy leaned back into the water until she was soaked to her shoulders, and then leaned forward and swam the few strokes to behind Pauls' boat.

Joe looked at Kathy and asked if she was going in. "Not dressed like this " she said as she stood there in jeans, knee high boots, and a chunky white turtleneck fishermans' sweater over a black ribbed turtleneck. "Besides, even if I lose the heavy sweater, I don't have a bra on and the one underneath is, well, you know...." She plopped down in a deck chair and said "I'm fine right here". It didn't last long though because the drinks were hitting her too. In a few minutes, she went up to the bow of the boat and looked down, and then turned and asked how deep we thought it was. We told her maybe 2 ft, and she said she was going on shore to take care of business and didn't care if her boots got wet. She stepped over to my boat which was a lot lower, hung her legs over the front and slid off into knee deep water. She waded ashore and disappeared into the bushes for a few minutes.

Kathy came out and walked down the sandbar for a couple minutes and yelled to us that it was warmer there out of the wind. She wasn't even noticeably wet as she poked around on shore. After a bit, she said she was coming back and entered the shallow water at a different angle approaching the boat. Looking down, she carefully stepped and checked her footing and stepped again, in water more shallow than before. As she got closer to where the bottom dropped off, she skirted the edges of it as the other women told her to "Just get wet and come over with us", but she insisted she wasn't. Her dilemma began closer to the boats as the water got deeper. When it reached mid-thigh, she was close, but tried to avoid the deeper water by skirting the edges. She should have walked out and come back the way she came, but instead opted for a side ladder that Joe had hung for her. She was holding the hem of her sweater away from the water with one hand as she approached the ladder, even though the water was still only up to her thing. With the wind rippling the surface now, she couldn't see down and with another step or 2, the soft sand on the bottom gave way and she was up to her waist, unable to get solid footing. As her feet kept moving she just sort of slid into deeper water and away from the ladder until in sheer frustration, she took a couple of strokes. By now she was well past the ladder and behind the boats, finally noticed by the others. She half swam and half waded towards the swim platform of Pauls' boat and by the time she got there both Tina and Suzy asked her why she was even bothering getting out. She stopped, looked to be about to say something, and turned to them and asked if they wanted another beer.

Paul and I gave them another round, followed by one more, while they just kind of hung out in the water. By the time we were ready to leave, we pulled out towels, blankets and jackets for them, and they rode back to the ramp below deck in Pauls' boat. Paul pulled to the dock and dropped off Kathy, Suzy and Tina, then pulled away to go to the marina as Joe and I pulled in. We got our trucks and trailers, backed in and got ready to load.

Generally we "walk" the boats to the trailer with a long line because power loading is prohibited. As hard as we tried, with the wind still blowing we couldn't get them straight enough. All of a sudden Tina dropped the towel she was draped in and just walked into the water at the ramp, grabbed the rear dock line and straightened out Joe's boat so he could winch it on to the bunks. "The friggin' water is even warmer here, now get that thing on there" she blurted out as she stood waist deep in the murky water. I stood there hanging on to my bow line trying to keep my boat away from Joes' and heard Suzy say "Ok" followed by squishing shoes as she and Kathy walked past me and down the ramp. They took up positions on each side of my boats' stern and walked it back to line up with the trailer. As both boats came up to nest on the trailers, all three girls sloshed their way to the concrete dock next to the ramp. I kinda figure they 'd be out in a minute, and as I stepped out from between the boat and trailer, all I saw was heads, shoulders and sleeves. It seems the ramp area was filled and tapered, while only a dozen feet away, there was nothing but river bottom and muck in the 6 or so feet of murky water. It didn't look like they were in a hurry to get out, and as I got back in the truck I warned them to stay away from the ramp and pulled to a parking spot next to Joe.

I grabbed the towels they had thrown in the boat plus a couple more and walked down to the ramp to help them out. I'm not sure I was surprised when I got there and saw the 3 of them in armpit deep water passing around a pint of brandy. "Towels!" I said, and they just looked at me and Kathy held up the bottle and said "In a minute" as she took a swig and passed it to Suzy. After her round she looked at me and told me to join them, which I declined with multiple excuses about it getting late, not wanting to change, and whatever else I could think of. The three of them in almost unison accused me of everything they could think of for not wanting to get my clothes wet.

It didn't take much, and I figured they wouldn't come out until they got their way, so I emptied my pockets and started down the ramp. Joe shouted to me that he'd tie everything down so I could leave when I got back, and as I felt the water penetrate my running shoes, I noticed it was still warm, almost tepid. I waded down until my jeans were soaked above my knees, and Tina said "Warm huh?" I replied "Warm enough" and took a few more steps. I was up to my crotch now and Suzy said "Just come in" as I stood there debating if I really wanted to go all the way. A couple more steps and I was at the flat spot at the end of the ramp, the water licking the bottom of my Levis jacket and the hem of my sweater. I walked around a bit, but got no wetter, until I finally gave in stepped off the edge of the ramp. The incline was sharp, and in 2 steps I was up to my armpits, and 2 more my chin, with my feet barely touching the bottom. I bounced and stroked with my arms until I reached them, and Suzy handed me the bottle and I took a slug from it. "About time" Kathy said, "We figured you'd have been in here with us hours ago". Suzy just laughed and said I was becoming a voyeur and had more fun watching - which was partly true. She made her way over to me and put her arm around my waist in the murky water and I reached down and squeezed her ass. She turned to me grabbed my shoulders and wrapped her legs around my waist. We kissed and as we did, the other 2 told us to "Rent a room" . She turned and smiled at them with a strange smile and I felt the unmistakable temperature increase in the water as she flexed her legs. Tina knew instantly, and as much as said so, with a big smile on her face too. As Suzy looked back at me she gave me the same strange smile and hung on while I made my contribution. We separated and sloshed around for another couple minutes until Joe pulled up near the ramp and yelled for Kathy and Tina to get in the truck because he wanted to get home before dark. With that, the four of us made our way back to the ramp and up and out of the water. Boots and shoes came off, as did every piece of clothing except our jeans, and we toweled off and threw on dry hoodies. 45 minutes later in still damp jeans and the boat put away, we headed inside to clean up in a hot shower, with fresh tops and lots of suds and multiple orgasms!

After our divorce I had a hell of a long "dry" spell until I ran into Tina at a motorcycle event a couple years later. It took one drink and 15 minutes of conversation and she flat out told me how much she enjoyed that day and now that I was single she'd love to do something like that with me. We ended up dating for a while and I even got the boat back in the water for a summer. For someone who was an educated professional with a responsible job, on our time, she was just the opposite. Her standard gear anytime we took the boat out included a big bottle of wine, towels, and extra clothes, and if a date night included a local hot tub establishment, it was the same. I still miss her too, but her career with the VA took her a couple hundred miles away, so that pretty much ended things.