Lake Hopatcong ~ visit from overseas part II

I honestly had no idea what to expect, since I had never been to Lake Hopatcong and I had no visual idea of a pontoon boat a.k.a. party boat either. All David told me was that it has lots of space, a tarp for shade and a small motor. Well, then. after yesterday’s boat tour around NYC, today one in NJ.

After breakfast and a little lounging around, we had rented the boat for the afternoon only, we drove to the lake, it really only is about 30 minutes from here. Once we got to Lake Hopatcong everything went super smooth. Lots of paperwork to sign at Bridge Marina, the place we rented the boat from, a pretty thorough introduction to the boat, then we loaded our stuff and off we went. David, the captain, steering steadily towards the northern end of the lake where we were told we would find a good swimming spot. And we did. Anchor away! Not even 5 minutes later Jule and Enza,  plus my big child, David, were already in the water. Nic followed, too, while I opted for lazing on one of the comfy benches keeping Klaus-Peter, who could not go into the water, because of a recent shoulder operation, company. So, while the others were swimming, we enjoyed strawberries, sandwiches, potato salad and a beer in the sun. Life is good!

Pretty soon, they must have somehow  ‘smelled’ the food, one after the other came out of the water and grabbed something to eat. For a while it was very quiet. O.k. except for the neighboring boat playing some loud music. Time to hoist the anchor! Aye, aye captain! The bottom of the lake is muddy, so it was not a problem. Off we went exploring the lake full steam ahead. And the ‘little motor’ was actually big enough to easily get this very non-sleek boat planing. What a nice breeze to feel in our faces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is actually quite a bit of boat traffic on Lake Hopatcong. You really have to watch out, all around you, when you are moving. Lots of power boats of all sizes and speeds, some of them towing wake boarders or tubes, there are jet skis, kayaks and swimmers. Lake Hopatcong is pretty big, but still, better be careful and watch the traffic.

We sailed to another spot recommended to us, supposedly good for fishing. Yes, you heard correctly, we had brought a fishing rod with us and decided to give the worms a bath. Because that is all we did. Except for algae we did not catch a thing. So, we headed on and found another spot to anchor and go swimming for one last time. For your info – the remaining bait worms later found a new home in our front yard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The weather had really looked a little threatening all day, but it held. No thunderstorm, not even one rain drop, even though it seemed that when we sailed back to the pier we were racing the clouds. But we made it and had a very fun day out on Lake Hopatcong. Once home it started to pour down – talk about good timing! – so we ordered sushi. After enjoying the food and some wine we went to bed pretty early, because our friends’ flight out of Newark was to leave at 6 am. We checked them in on Sunday, but we still had to leave for the airport at 4:30 am. Which we did and they got on to their plane just fine. As per their latest news received by email, the flight went well and they so far have enjoyed a few days in San Francisco, Vegas, Yosemite and Death Valley and are now well on their way to the Grand Canyon. Way more places than I have seen of the US so far.

Where have you traveled to? Any places you can recommend to me? I would love to hear about it.