The expo was held at the Alliant Energy Center downtown. There were 2 events scheduled at the Alliant yesterday: the fishing expo and some type of cheer leading competition. As we pulled up, it was easy to tell which building the fishing expo was in; it was the building with all the pick-up trucks in the parking lot. Of course.
It cost 16 bucks for the both of us to get in. After we bought our tickets (and signed up to win a free fishing trip to Canada), we ventured towards the entrance to the main area where the expo was held. The hallway (and I don't think that's the right word but I can't think of a better one) leading towards the entrance was lined with vendors, including this one:
Wha-, wha-, what?? Fancy coffee, smoothies and margaritas at the fishing expo?? Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
I actually ended up enjoying myself for three main reasons:
1. I was with Scott and I do love him and we do always have fun when we are together.
2. We spent less time looking at fishing stuff and more time looking at boats.
3. Beer.
As soon as we got into the exhibit area, we went straight to the boats on display. One of the first boats we saw had a 300 horse power outboard on it. If you are familiar with boats, you know that's a monster of an outboard. If you aren't familiar with boats, this will give you an idea of how big a 300 horse outboard is. Scott provides the point of reference.
Speaking of the boat we have now, this is it (with the bumpers thrown over the side because we were getting ready to launch.) It's a Lund, which is respected brand of fishing boats-- even the old ones, like ours, garner respect.
This is the inside of our Lund.
This is the inside of the new Lund.
Ummm....yeah.....just a little, tiny bit nicer than ours.
Scott would like to have a new Lund because he likes that brand. Of the fish/ski boats they had on display at the expo, this is the boat I liked best- a Triton.
This bad boy costs $40,000.00. I wouldn't know what to do with myself in a boat that nice. Guess I don't have to worry about it. For 40 grand, I'll never find out.
We liked this boat a lot too.
It's only $24,000.00 brand new ("only" being a relative term). We can't do it this year, but maybe within the next couple years we could upgrade to something like this. It's a fish/ski boat, which is what we would try to get if we ever do upgrade, instead of getting just a straight fishing boat.
The tiller motor we have on our boat is an Evinrude. Other common boat motor brands are Mercury and this one:
I'm not making it up when I say boat-people will talk to each other about the size of their Johnson's. They are being serious and referring to horse power. When I hear someone talk about the size of their Johnson, my 3rd grader sense of humor immediately kicks in. Whatever a person may be referring to, I'm never mad at someone who has a big Johnson.
As we were waiting in line to get our tickets to the expo, Scott and I contemplated how many dudes we would see in camouflage hats. I assure you, there were no shortages of them. Lots of rugged dudes in lots of camouflage hats.
As we walked around, we passed a large display that looked like this.
In addition to signing up to win a free trip to Canada when we entered the expo, we also signed up to win a free trip to the Upper Peninsula (or the U.P., as people around here call it.) I saw this on one of the outboards we walked by.
My question to Scott was: where do I sign up for a direct injection?
2 comments:
Joe and I had an 18-ft. Searay when we were married. We had a lot of fun on that boat, and you're photos reminded me of the good times. Next time I'm in your neck of the woods, you'll have to give me a boat ride, a direct injection and a look at your big Johnson.
Jeano,
Scott said he'll be happy to show you his big Johnson. I might have to object to the direct injection though......
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