An Ode to our (former) jet skis

5 years ago Matt & I took Coliseum to my parents house on Father's Day.  We normally take State St but this time we thought about stopping at Best Buy so Matt could get his "new every 2" cell phone  but then ran out of time.  Because we took that way we saw two jet skis for sale. 

I first thought the sign said $6,100 (out of our price range).  We turned around and drove past again.  It was actually $3,500.  That was a possibility.  We went onto my parents and excitedly talked about what to do.  When we left we stopped to ask about them, exchange numbers, and think some more.

We debated all week but finally decided if they were still there by the weekend we would do it.  The next Friday, on our way to help set up for my SIL's wedding reception, we stopped again and negotiated a price.  And then the guy lowered it another $100.  Yay!!  We said we'd get the money and be back on Sunday to make the actual purchase. 

Sunday we went back with the jeep and became official owners of 2 jet skis - a 3 seater and a 2 seater, just like we wanted.

They lead to much more frequent lake trips for us and lots and lots of good times.  I know it sounds really corny and cheesy...but I look back at buying the jet skis as a catalyst in our lives. 
Things changed after we bought them, in good ways.
 

The pretty pretty dock I built so our jet skis would have a home in the water.

I mean, any watercraft is work.  We (Matt) have had to do all sort of repairs on them, fixing bad winterizing from previous owner, dealing with random problems, and stones stuck.  I've said for years that the two things we splurge on are our vacations and having jet skis.  When we bought them gas was just hitting $4/gallon and a lot of people thought we were crazy.  But they were worth it.  We got a lot of enjoyment out of them.

Being in the middle of the adoption process last summer we talked about what to do with the jet skis.  We really liked them but even without a baby there were only 2 times all summer we had both jet skis out at once: my birthday weekend for surfing and Labor Day weekend when we were giving kids rides.  We decided it wasn't worth the work or garage space to have 2 jet skis just for other people to ride.  We started talking about getting a 4 seater and selling our beloved jet skis.

In October we found a 4 seater for a great price.  Once again the seller lowered it below what we offered (we are really good at subconsciously negotiating).  Of course, we've now paid for the low price in stress since we are STILL (7 months later) working on getting a title.  (After multiple calls to the BMV and then being directed to traffic court, city clerk, county clerk, and then small claims court, we finally know how we can get a court ordered title which is what we will probably end up doing.)

Anyways, for 7 months we owned 3 jet skis.  And they were all in our garage.  At the same time.  With both cars.  It's a 2 car garage.  And it was a little tight.  Both a FWPD officer and my 2 year old nephew had the same reaction: "Wow, you have a lot of jet skis in your garage!"  and then "That one is huge!"  

That empty spot is where the jeep parks.  Also a kayak hanging over the double trailer and another over the Mazda

Last week we sold our first 2 jet skis.  Now, I've known this was coming for awhile (even though in frustration over the title crap I've told Matt I just want to sell the new one and keep the old ones...he didn't agree) but it still makes me sad.  A lot of summer memories the last 5 years revolve around those jet skis and the lake trips with them.

(The really ridiculous part of feeling like that is that we sold them to Matt's brother and SIL...which means they will still be at the family lake cottage and we will still get to ride them occasionally.)