Boyinks4Adventure

Back in 2005 there was a website started for Christian web developers and designers called Godbit.com. While the site looks to be languishing now, it had a good run for a couple of years serving both as a showcase for high-quality Christian web designs and as a connection point for Christian web-heads who wanted the quality of their work to be high (the site even features a now-7-year-old interview with…   Read More >>

Back last April, when we were still in the process of getting out of our house, we held a Dream Party.  We had a wonderful time talking about dreams with friends and family and as we moved around Michigan for the summer we kept hearing repercussions from the it - several people talked about how they were still moving after their dreams in ways that they weren’t before the party. …   Read More >>

Later today, we will be spending time with the Jeske family (remember, this post is being written after the fact). One of the things I already know about the Jeske family is that they look to make each day an Amazing Day! I took that idea and applied it to last Sunday. It was the last day of our rental week that had air temps in the 70s. The kids…   Read More >>

When we reserved our houseboat, S&S sent us our deposit receipt as well as an information DVD. We watched the DVD with great interest. One of the activities shown in the DVD that we knew we wanted to do was go through a lock. The DVD showed the smiling passenger— all wearing bathing suits due to the warm sunny day— holding onto ropes that kept the houseboat next to the…   Read More >>

It is true that navigating and piloting the houseboat were a bit different than our truck and 5th Wheel. Yet, many other things were similar. We had to think about our fresh water and fuel tanks. The walls were pretty thin and when the night air turned cold midweek, we needed extra blankets and cranked up the heat. Meals were prepared and eaten (no eating out). The best similarities, though,…   Read More >>

We had this planned for about four months. We’d make our way over to Lansing, Iowa, and rent a houseboat for a week. It didn’t really click, though, until we saw the River. Yikes, we were really going to do this? Were we really going to leave the trailer for a week and swap it for a boat? You better believe it. We arrived a day early to load up…   Read More >>

I enjoyed our travel down the Mississippi. The houseboat was different from our trailer. The bathroom was much bigger, and there were two bedrooms, and one pull-out bed. When we moved, I liked to go to the top deck and get some fresh air and a little alone time. Up there I would write, read, and sing to my iPod. I also enjoyed waving to people. Almost all of them…   Read More >>

I am a woman who wears many hats. While writing this particular post, I donned by Navigator hat. During our training, John opened up a book of laminated maps of the upper Mississippi. At first I was quite confused because he traced his finger along a white band rather than through blue (which I associate with water). It finally dawned on me that the white band, edged with occasional red…   Read More >>

I can’t remember where the idea came from. All I know is that for years now I’ve wanted to rent a houseboat and take the family for a week-long “camping on the water” trip. There are many places to rent houseboats - (websites like Houseboating.org will help you find the different destinations) there was just something especially attractive about being on the Mississippi River rather than in a lake.  Maybe…   Read More >>

We boondocked in Sioux City, SD following the late night in neighboring Brandon, SD. When looking at the map this morning, we realized we were less than 10 miles from the South Dakota/Iowa border. We’ve never detoured like this before - just to say we had been in a state and to count it - but we so had to do it. And, you know what? The little corner of…   Read More >>