It’s Summertime – I will be boating, will you? Discover Boating!

I am so excited about this post! You see, in March we purchased a retirement/vacation home…and it is on a lake! Now, to be honest, we have never really boated before, aside from going out on a lake with friends every now and then. When we made the offer on our house, we asked that they include the pontoon boat and paddle boat, which they did.  This is when we discovered boating.

We have been going to our new home almost every other weekend (it is about 3 hours away), with the most recent time being this past weekend. Each time we go there, we take the boats out. There is no other feeling like it – watching the beautiful water below, the waterfowl, and of course if there is a sunset to be seen, it is truly a spectacular experience. My father-in-law recently came to the new house to visit us and we were anxious to take him out on the pontoon boat. Doesn’t he look pretty relaxed?

Boating is REALLY relaxing. We never knew how much until we took our own boat out and just cruised around slowly. Where our new home is, the lake is a man-made lake in a gated community, so only certain boats are allowed (no gas powered boats). Although we might someday get a new boat, our current one is just perfect for us. It seats about 12 people, has tables and cup holders and even a stereo (although we are still trying to get it to work). Last weekend we had our good friends and my brother down to spend some time with us and it was the most amazing weekend ever, and one we will never forget. There are so many more memories to be made with our boat, family and friends in the future, at our new home.

Isn’t she pretty?

Something else happened when we bought the new house…the desire to get back to the basics. To be honest, it feels really good to be offline while we are at out other home.  Neither myself, my husband or the kids really have any interest in being tied to electronics.  The lake and the boat make us all want to go out and enjoy nature and everything else the great outdoors has to offer.

Discover Boating is a website I recently discovered, which is full of information about boating, boats (cost-comparison, etc.), games and activities for kids so they can learn about boating too, and much more.  There will probably come a time when we may want to buy a new boat.  Not too soon, as ours is still running just fine, but eventually I think we will want to get something different.  Since we aren’t too familiar with boats yet, Discover Boating is now our go-to website for everything boating related.

You can learn about different types of boats and compare them on Discover Boating.  Where we live, we are limited in the length for any boat we own and operate on the lake.  By choosing “pontoon boats” on Discover Boating, I was able to find out pontoon boat lengths available, pricing, brands, max number of passengers and so much more.  I had NO idea that there were so many manufacturers of pontoon boats.  I can easily find a dealer through Discover Boating. There was even a video explaining about pontoon boats. This is all so incredibly helpful!

Although we do not have a trailer for out boat, and I don’t see ourself hauling our boat out of the lake anytime soon, there IS a handy Marina and Ramp Locator on the Discover Boating website.  For those who go camping often, or travel with their boat, they can easily find ramps to launch their boat. Simply choose which state you want to find a marina/ramp and it brings up several options!

We have also had a blast taking the paddle boat out, although it is not quite as relaxing as a boat with a motor 🙂 – but it is handy when we just want to take a quick spin around the lake, and perhaps get a little exercise.

A family friend and his daughter

I am so thrilled that our new home allows us to spend quality family time, doing really fun things that we all enjoy, such as boating.   It is fun to have an activity – and not just an ordinary activity, to bring us all together (especially as the kids get older).

I foresee much happiness and laughter with friends and family this summer – and all year round too.  In our boat of course!

Check out Discover Boating to see what boat might be out there waiting for you!

*I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Discover Boating and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.