Freedom Boat Club Chattanooga / Guild TN River Cruises

A great joy in life is to explore new bodies of water. The joy is enhanced exponentially when such exploration can be done by boat. That is precisely what we did this recent Thanksgiving week.

The Freedom Boat Club makes such ventures affordable, convenient and hassle free. Through our membership at the Lake Lanier Club we simply reserve at any of 145+ North American destinations, show up and enjoy. No trailering, no white knuckle driving, no prolonged travel.



This trip we cruised the Tennessee River out of Freedom's Chattanooga / Guild Club at the Hales Bar Marina & Resort. We spent 2015 Thanksgiving week in Chattanooga and were charmed by the place. Our only trek on the river that trip was via the Tennessee Aquarium River Gorge Explorer Riverboat, which will unfortunately cease operation in January 2018. 

We aspired to take in the magnificent waterway piloting by ourselves this time, and the experience was outstanding. These were our first Freedom river cruises. Our vessel for three days was a 21 foot 2015 Starcraft 2000 Deckboat powered by a peppy yet efficient 115 HP Yamaha four stroke outboard.



It's not always possible to secure a boat for 3 days during peak season weeks via Freedom, but when boats are available the Club makes every effort to accommodate member requests.

On day 1 we took a 70 mile round trip cruise - in red - from Hales Bar to Chattanooga. We were the only recreational boat on the water, passing barges and other work vessels along the way. With temps peaking at 49 degrees it was a brisk and "invigorating" day indeed.

Day 2 - in blue - was a more relaxed and warmer jaunt to and from Nickajack Dam. The Day 3 voyage was a hybrid of the first two and the warmest day of the week.

Vistas along the way included fall colors, sheer bluffs and the historic and supposedly haunted Hales Bar Dam.

Video footage of these thrilling treks here, here and here do not do justice to the real life experience. But hey, at least we tried.

The market value of this Starcraft is approximately $25,000. All we paid each day was the cost of fuel consumed plus a gratuity for the dock hand to gas up and clean up for the next reservation.

In a week we take to the waters of the Tchefuncte River out of Freedom's New Orleans / Madisonville Louisiana Club. Our goal in coming years is to complete some fantasy Freedom Boat Club vacation tour across North America. Whether or not we succeed it promises to be a most adventuresome experiment.

For more information about Freedom Boat Club membership contact John Roberge at 404-901-4907. Please tell him Peter Stoddard referred you.

Contact:

John Roberge
Freedom Boat Club Lake Lanier
404-901-4907

www.stoddard.media

Freedom Boat Club Lake Lanier Regal 2100 Bowrider Cruise

Freedom Boat Club on Lake Lanier did Two Big Things in 2017.

1. In addition to their original Holiday Marina location they opened a second at Bald Ridge Marina.
2. They invested approximately $1 million in brand new boats to expand their fleet.

We recently took out a 2017 Regal 2100 bowrider (a/k/a ski boat) for a 4 hour test cruise. A most exhilarating experience.

We had not captained a boat on Lanier since January, so we had pent up boating energy to expend. The Regal 2100 was the perfect vessel for that mission. This was also our first reservation at the new Freedom Bald Ridge "office". 

As we checked the boat out the deck hand informed us, "This boat will get up and go. Like a thoroughbred all she wants to do is run." We replied all we aspired to do was leisurely reacquaint ourselves with the old neighborhood. He just grinned in response as if to say "We'll see."

The Regal console is much like those of the Freedom Ebbtide, Monterey and Starcraft bowriders we had come to know and love. While Freedom maintains their entire fleet with great care, what first struck about the Regal was it's pristine appearance. Though it had been thru a season of use we got the feeling we were its first ever pilots. That in itself is a rush.

We wanted to make a few stops before we put the Regal to any test. Weeks earlier our houseboat became the largest ever to sink on Lake Lanier. Following refloatation BoatUS towed it to a different marina to await restoration. Our first trek in the Regal was to the new slip for a look at whether it sank again. It didn't. Ours is the still floating for the time being vessel with green canvas 4th from the right.

The houseboat sinkage is a subject for another, much more lengthy discussion to come.

Our next trek was across the main channel to the home of Port Royale Marina area friends who had hosted us a week earlier. It had been months since we traveled to their crib by water, and we wanted to see if we could still spot it for certain from asea. That was confirmed with a cell call to our recent host who was annoyed with the report that we were "working". So was he, but not like us.

With those 2 essential errands out of the way we were free to explore. That meant a cruise northeast past Gainesville Marina and under the creatively named "Lanier Bridge". Here we opened things up a little. We are not a need for speed people who must make our gums bleed on every voyage. Let's just say the gums were pulsing. The Regal was indeed more than ready to get up and go.

Note: This is not a picture of us or anyone we know, nor was it taken by us. But it is the correct model Regal 2100.

This November day we saw only 3-4 other boats on the lake, those being work vessels. Waters were therefore calmer than on a high traffic day except for chop stirred up by brisk winds on the main channels. This Regal is heavier than other bowriders to which we are accustomed. It cut thru chop like butter.

Rather than attempt to express nonexistent boat expertise we share someone else's expertise in a professional review here.We do not know options featured on the model we tested, but list price is approx $45,000. Cost for the day: $50 in fuel and a $5 tip for the mate to gas it up and clean for the next reservation. Tip would be more generous if boat was covered in fish guts etc.

Another shot of what the Regal would look had 2 attractive people joined us, which they didn't.

We look forward to utilizing both Lanier Freedom locations. Holiday Marina is more convenient some days, Bald Ridge others. Members can reserve from a large fleet of boats at either Lanier location. Bowriders, deck boats, pontoons, center consoles and cabin cruisers.

Navionics app somehow erased the November 10 course but this was it. Roughly 65 total thrilling nautical miles.

We were on the Tennessee River out of the Freedom Chattanooga club yesterday and will be out there again tomorrow. Click here for a brief video of that experience. In two weeks we will explore the Tchefuncte River out of the Freedom New Orleans / Madisonville Louisiana club.

Freedom members have access to boats at over 145 North American locations at no additional cost. As in zero. Members simply make a reservation thru their local club and pay for fuel at the destination club.

In the near future we expect to check out boats most often from the Bald Ridge club below:

Do not be deceived by appearances. Freedom is not known for luxury real estate. Freedom is known for luxury boats.

To inquire about membership at Freedom Lake Lanier call John Roberge at 404-901-4907. Please tell him Peter Stoddard referred you.

Contact:

John Roberge
Freedom Boat Club Lake Lanier
404-901-4907

www.stoddard.media

CM Houseboat Renovations Breaths New Life Into Vintage Lake Lanier Vessels

Our 1980 Sumerset houseboat sank on October 3. At 15 by 70 feet it may be the largest to ever sink on Lake Lanier. It did not sink to the lake floor - it sank in its slip at the dock. But as any sunken boat owner can attest, if every surface where one might normally set foot is under water, that boat sank.

This is most definitely not our boat. It is one restored by the company to be discussed later. We feature this photo here as our boat looked a little scary, and the top photo is what shows up when this is posted elsewhere.



With the assistance of many to be named and thanked later the vessel was brought back afloat less than 48 hours after it went down. Then came the ordeal to remove all soaked mattresses, carpet etc and dry the thing out. Fans and dehumidifiers for 4 days just like when a basement floods.

We found that a boat insurance claim is unlike an auto or homeowner claim. Whereas we hoped and expected the insurer would promptly direct us to immediate and long term resources, we learned we must research and identify those on our own. That said, the insurance company was extremely helpful once we got folks lined up.

The scary photo of our boat.



Due to the size of the boat we faced the looming challenge to determine a repair destination and vendors. Consulting with dozens of boat owners and experts, it appeared we would have to move the boat by trailer to the nearest yard large enough to accommodate it 40 miles away at significant cost both there and back. We would have to identify people willing to travel that far for carpentry, fiberglass, electric, plumbing and a slew of other specialty work yet to be determined. It would likely take a year to complete.

In our minds we figured we must only be one phone call away from finding someone who could restore the boat nearby - on or near Lake Lanier - making the task exponentially more simple and less costly. It appeared that someone did not exist. As we worked our way down lists of resources we were about to give up and make the dreaded call to a trucking company. Then one resource way down on more than one list jumped off the pages:

CM Houseboat Renovations

Why did we not see this earlier? Because we were working off of emails, text messages, Facebook posts, our iPhone, tablet and PC. Suggestions came in spurts, and acting on them was like drinking from a fire house.

Examples of CM Houseboat Renovations work:



The next dreads were of many we had encountered repeatedly: a disconnected phone number, the person had retired, they were 437 miles away, and so on. Those dreads were unfounded.

Our call to "Cajun Mike" was the 'one phone call away' we suspected we might encounter. In 30 minutes we confirmed CM Houseboat Renovations could likely do or arrange all rehab work necessary - and do it very near Lake Lanier. Whew.

Further research revealed the company is on the approved vendor list for 6 major Lake Lanier Marinas. They are the only company on Lanier that works exclusively on houseboats. What little they can not do with their own employees they can arrange thru their select network of trusted specialists.

Since it's a mouthful we'll call them CM for short. Unlike many marine contractors CM vows not to apply all too familiar "boat surcharges". In other words, any repair on a boat costs 50% + more than on an identical household repair - for no apparent reason.



As photos reveal CM does Ritz Carlton level restorations. We assured Cajun Mike we loved our Holiday Inn, and all we want back is our Holiday Inn. To which he replied, "Well, you should be pleased to learn you might get a Marriott for a Holiday Inn price."

We shall update this as restoration dates approach. Work is to commence in January and should be complete by April.

For more information contact Cajun Mike at CM Houseboat Renovations.

Contact:

Cajun Mike
CM Houseboat Renovations
678- 997-1873

stoddard.media

OK Georgia Bulldogs, So You're Number 1!

Too much emphasis is placed on college football. And not enough emphasis is placed on college football. It is a bunch of warriors, most of whom will never be paid to play. Yet for us, it is time on Saturday when we can tune out everything else.

2017 College Football Rankings - Week 10

This is the only hyperlink and photo we will include. One must read from this point forward.

We are lifelong Georgia fans, long suffering Georgia fans. We were in New Orleans in 1980 and expected many such celebrations to follow. You know how that turned out.

We can not channel Kirby Smart. Never met him. But we will attempt to channel him here. What he will say to his players and what he will not say. This is stream of consciousness stuff.

Okay Georgia Bulldogs, So You're Number 1!

No you're not. You are zero. We play South Carolina Saturday.

Alabama will be pissed. Okay, so they're pissed. Haven't you been pissed since kindergarten that Alabama is always ranked number 1? We play South Carolina Saturday. (Insert this last sentence at the end of each paragraph to save us all time.)

You have been great athletes since kindergarten. This is what you have devoted years of effort to get to exactly where you and we are now. This chance will not come again.

South Carolina is already talking trash. They apparently did not pay attention to what we did to Florida after they talked trash. Georgia Bulldogs do not talk trash and care nothing about trash spoken by opponents.

Paul Feinbaum yesterday said "I don't think Georgia poses any real threat to Alabama." Paul Feinbaum went to Tennessee yet is a shameless Alabama homer. But take Paul Feinbaum's comments to heart. Or don't.

Future generations of stellar 17 year old athletes have choices of great football teams for which to play. They can choose Tuscaloosa and a coach who won't let them smile or Athens and a coach who smiles with them. Until the following Monday. Which will they choose?

The above has nothing to do with preparation this week or this year. And it's not something Kirby Smart would ever say. But we stuck it in anyway.

We play South Carolina Saturday. (We interject this occasionally if you forget to remember.)

Will Muschamp. While at Florida he ignored his own seriously injured player on the field in favor of berating his defense on the sideline. LSU showed more concern for Muschamp's player than Muschamp did.

The above has nothing to do with preparation this week or this year. And it's not something Kirby Smart would ever say. But we stuck it in anyway. Again.

Being voted Number 1 the first week of College Football Playoff Rankings is a curse. Yes, so is spilling salt and walking under ladders. Worry more about spilling salt and walking under ladders than being voted Number 1 the first week of College Football Playoff Rankings.

We play South Carolina Saturday.

Everyone has a job to do. Everyone has been doing their job pretty well. But not well enough.

Georgia always chokes. Yes, so did the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs. But that is in the past and those other teams are pros who play baseball. Which is not football. And they have nothing to do with Georgia. Only Georgia has to do with Georgia.

Belaboring the same point. The head of the US Patent office once said "everything that can be invented has been invented." Steve Jobs ignored him. Ignore people who are dim.

Though you are 18 to 21 years old do not shoot a BB gun in the quad, carouse past curfew or drive on a suspended license. If you do we have other talented and hungrier players who will take your place. Then you can transfer to Auburn or Louisville.

We play South Carolina Saturday.

Georgia is Number 1 so we will be a target. To offset that we will install new variations of the slant pass, the only one Jake Fromm can throw. Plus we will prove to whoever is targeting us Georgia is indeed a team they lose to.

But what about if Alabama, Notre Dame or Clemson pass us in rankings next week because we only beat South Carolina? What was that question again? What rankings? Who are Alabama, Notre Dame and Clemson?

Can I score ten 50 yard line tickets for our BFFs at Stoddard Media? That is an excellent question. We will give that top priority even before practice today.

Let's frame a super enlarged version of the next Sports Illustrated issue and plaster it to the locker room wall. Is that the swimsuit edition? Another great idea.

We play South Carolina Saturday.

Why don't you allow other coaches and freshman players to do interviews? Because they might get giddy and shoot a BB gun in the quad afterward.

In the foreseeable future Georgia will never recruit a candidate for Heisman Trophy. Georgia will recruit players who want to block and win championships. Ask Nick Chubb and Sony Michel how much they care about a Heisman Trophy.

What is for dinner after practice this afternoon? Whatever they serve for dinner after practice this afternoon.

What if I sell a jock strap on eBay? A UGA cop will turn you in and Georgia will get the death penalty. Then Reggie Bush will declare another year of college eligibility and win the Heisman Trophy. Then Pete Carroll will continue to be blame free and make millions in the NFL.

We play South Carolina Saturday.

Can we have someone design our next gnarly uniform? No. You just lost your scholarship.

What football experience does Stoddard Media have? We were a small, slow and dumb center and nose tackle on our 4-6 1974 high school team the year before our school merged with Sandy Springs. That 1975 team went 9-3 with large, fast and smart players. That makes us great. The older we get the greater we were.

Pathetic Ridgeview Record

Forgettable Ridgeview Helmets

You said there would be no more hyperlinks or photos. That was much earlier and we forgot.

What qualifies Stoddard Media to write about this? In 1978 Ernie Johnson Jr interviewed us on WUOG about the Terry College career day we were in charge of. In 1979 Buck Belue and a bunch of teammates came to a party at our apartment then left because no women had yet arrived. Both Johnson and Belue will deny this but we can produce unreliable witnesses.

Then in 1980 Georgia won a national championship. Coincidence? We think not.

We play South Carolina Saturday.

Contact:

www.stoddard.media

The Quest for Better Grapes

Do you ever wonder why superior grapes are so hard to find? We do.

In our family grapes are essential to survival. Well, perhaps not up there with air & water, but close. OK, clothing & shelter perhaps rank slightly above grapes, but not by all that much. We really like grapes.

First, grapes taste & look great. Second, grapes are good for you, particularly if you eat all varieties. Third, grapes are one of the few fruits or vegetables our teenage sons will each eat willingly & even ask for with neither reward nor threat of punishment. Fourth, forget First & Second. Third is all that matters. Reward & threats were never necessary for grapes even when our teenagers were real preteen brats.

This was never necessary at our house.



But here's the dilemma.

You go to the store, whether your local grocer, big box store or even the organic specialty place. You have one objective. You want & need a very large quantity of good grapes. You may need other stuff too, but we are only talking about grapes here. Nothing else.

Maybe you're planning a huge family reunion. Maybe it's a weekend youth group gathering for teens from 1/4 of the United States. Whatever. You simply need lots & lots of grapes. And you need good ones. Are we clear?

The problem is you can't find lots of consistently good grapes. Sure you can find them by the bazillions, but quality is all over the place - and not in a good way. Some are tiny, hard, bitter & gross. Some are huge, mushy, slimy & gross. And these can all be found in the same bag. How can that be?

How can one bunch contain under ripe, perfect & over ripe grapes? Did that bunch travel to different parts of the world in recent weeks & some of its members get confused? Are some of the grapes overly ambitious, some perfectly balanced & others just laggards? Are grapes kinda like your extended in-laws?

Technically a large collection of grapes is more properly referred to as a cluster, but bunch will do here. Cluster is a rather cumbersome word, plus it can lead back to confusion with extended in-laws. Let's stick with bunch to avoid both cumbersomeness & extended in-laws. Keep things safe & pleasant all around.

This grape enigma has baffled grape consumers for as long as the there have been grapes. And that's pretty long. Grapes have actually been around way longer than baffled human grape consumers, especially the baffled human grape consumers we've talked to. This issue merits looking into, and we aim to do that here.

Grapes ripen right? So why are some bunches in the same bag riper than other bunches? There should be some simple reason, perhaps a formula for grape success. bunch A + bunch B = AB  or maybe it’s Bag A= (1+2)B/ RF where RF is the ripeness factor. Did I mention I hate math? That’s why it is so much easier to purchase by sight. But why do they make it so hard?  Then why do we see it all the time, seemingly everywhere, bunch A ≠,bunch B, wherever we shop, with so few exceptions?

We just impressed ourselves with use of fancy mathematical keystrokes we didn't previously know existed. Maybe former our former math teachers are giving us a break unlike when we are in school & it really counted. But lets move on.

The absence of grape uniformity in stores is because all too often grapes are picked in the vineyard by different people.

Some folks have good eyesight & can choose well on what they put in the bag. But we bet there are some folks are nearsighted and  don’t choose so well. Maybe the tall pickers get the better bunches and leave the runts for the shorter pickers. Or maybe the short pickers are real short & just pick ‘em off the ground. How do you know a grape is ripe anyway? Which ripeness formula? Do pickers carry a grape calculator?

We think the pickers who see well must just be pickier than other less picky pickers. So why do grape growers & resellers tolerate this pickiness? Based on this fact there must be a margin of error of sorts. Maybe a mathematical or assumed consumer ignorance margin of error & they expect the grape consuming public to tolerate that same margin. How nice of them.

It does not have to be this way. Demanding grape consumers can unite & declare "We're as mad as hell, and we're not going to take this anymore!"

As well you should.

But before you go shouting cluelessly from your office & home windows it may be a good idea to gain some insight as to what you're shouting about in the first place & why. Yes, it's because of inconsistent grapes. But sit down & take a deep breath while we explore reasons why those grapes are inconsistent.

In the old days before there was today's massive population of grape consuming humans grapes grew naturally in their native habitat. And they ripened naturally too. Their reward was being eaten by grape consuming animals who ate only the superior grapes when they encountered them. Remember this was before humans, much less a massive population of them.

Then along came the human. Then came a second human. Then several. And they all liked grapes. This worked out quite well until humans procreated faster than grapes could. At some point there became a human-grape population imbalance. That's when all the trouble started.

Humans could no longer rely only on wild grapes. They began to plant & cultivate grapes. That also worked out well for a few thousand years. Until at some point it stopped working out well.

The point when it stopped working out well is frankly about when our parents were born. Or maybe when we ourselves were born. This is not to blame our parents. And it is certainly not to blame you or us. But we must blame someone. So let's blame "the masses".

When the human-grape population became severely imbalanced grape growers sought & found ways to stem the tide. Reverse the trend. In other words make way more grapes. Sometimes they did pretty good but sometimes they botched it up. That's why they call us humans. To err is human & all that.

Early grape growers were mom & pop types who tended to do things pretty good & cared a lot about their customers. Because those customers were friends & family who could yell directly at them if they produced bad grapes.

Over time moms & pops gave way to large scale grape growers who did not know their customers & could not be yelled at because they hid in large brick corporate headquarters buildings. That's when grape quality really started to go downhill.

But did it? It seems some headquarters get it right, even these days considering the great looming human-grape imbalance.

We don't pretend to be experts on grapes, but we've done a little research. We hope that's kind of apparent if you've read this far.

We are not here to shill any grape grower or company, but that won't stop us from calling attention to one if we feel like it. We did stumble upon one that looks both legit & wholesome.

http://www.sun-world.com

Enough about them. We may hear from their attorneys even though we're only calling them out as a good example. They might just not like our attitude.

If we're lucky they'll never find out we exist. If we're luckier still they may like our attitude & pay us to write stuff for them. Or they may pay us to go away & never mention them again. Income opportunities abound but we'll explore those later on our time not yours.

Back to a point we made a while back. Grapes are good for you, particularly if you eat all varieties. There are many varieties. New exotic varieties are introduced every year. But there are three staples at our house. We provide healthy specimen images of each for those who were born yesterday or are really naive about grapes.

Green grapes:

Red grapes:

Black grapes:

Now that we've got your mouth watering we shall move on. Plus our teenagers are due home from school any minute & we are out of grapes. Best not to let them see what dad is working on lest they eat his computer.

As a consumer you may wonder how to find superior grapes produced by superior growers. Do their growers use special chemicals or secret methods? The way to get answers is simple. Ask questions wherever you buy grapes. If you know your local grocer ask him or her. They should be glad you asked & more than happy to accommodate you.

This is not our grocer, but he looks like a real nice & smart person who both knows good produce & would answer questions truthfully if someone asked.

If you shop at a chain grocery or big box store ask the produce manager if they know how their grapes are grown. They may explain those decisions are made by corporate buyers or purchasing agents. Tell them you know that because, well, you now know that. Ask them to ask those corporate people if they know how their grapes are grown... If the corporate people don't already know they will now - because you asked.

When you go back next time ask again. If your first request seems to have fallen on deaf ears ask louder & more slowly. Kinda like you do with in-laws who don't hear so well. Your grape retailer should get the picture even if your in-laws never do.

Ask your friends to do what you just did. Superior retailers listen & respond to their customers. That mantra seems to be woven into every retailer slogan. Put them to the test & make them earn your grape business on every visit to the produce aisle where the bunches are equal, the bags are equal and the buying experience is equal; “Out with the tiny, bitter, wimpdog grapes”, “Out with big mush and the color brown”. Let them know grape consumers are demanding animals when it comes to repeat business. And please don’t make us “mad as hell”, ever again... A superior retailer will ultimately thank you for it. So will friends, family & neighbors who will now be able to count on readily available superior grapes.

Don't even get us started about blueberries. We'll talk about the superior blueberry next week.

Big time disclaimer: Sun World did not approve or authorize use of their name or link to their website. We just happened to find them in our research, and they look legit & wholesome from what we can tell. This is the opinion of us as grape enthusiasts only. We hope they won't object.

Contact:

Peter Stoddard
Stoddard Media
1400 Market Place Blvd
Cumming GA 30041
678-725-5889
stoddardmedia@gmail.com

www.stoddard.media

North Georgia Houseboat Cruise Vacations

OK. This client does not exist but we really think they should.

There are houseboat cruise vacations all over the world. We should know because our global corporate HQ houseboat just sank.

Our sinking a houseboat does not make us an expert on worldwide houseboat cruise vacations. Google makes us an expert on worldwide houseboat cruise vacations.

Our sunken HQ houseboat is currently entirely unsuitable for a vacation but it's what got us thinking. Not thinking clearly but thinking.

You too can use Google to become an expert on worldwide houseboat cruise vacations. But you haven't done it yet & we have so that makes us your expert on worldwide houseboat cruise vacations.

This boat looks significantly more vacation suitable than ours at least for the time being.

This company does international houseboat vacations. We link to them only because they are continents away & probably speak some foreign language. They are therefore somewhat less likely to sue us.

There is no reason someone can't do here what foreigners do there. And since we are Americans & specifically since we are Georgians we could do it better.

That shirt happens to be very foreign Georgians who think they do it better but it's the only image we could find. When we talk about Georgians doing it better think of a houseboat vacation like it was a resort hotel. In case you have never been to a resort hotel it goes something like this.

There are plenty of American houseboat opportunities also. But let's focus on north Georgia. There are houseboat rentals on north Georgia lakes but not houseboat vacations. So let's focus on where there are neither houseboat rentals or vacations. North Georgia rivers.

North Georgia rivers are where we will focus. Portions of some are navigable by houseboat we think but are not sure. But we know more than you unless you just went & spent more time on Google than us.

Let’s discuss briefly the difference between the terms "vacation" & "rental". Vacation is when you relax, are pampered & have a care free experience. Rental is when you pretend like you know what you're doing, your boat sinks on the 1st day & everyone involved hates you.

Let's talk about houseboats. They are houses that float. Most of the time. Hopefully. Especially if you vacation on one & don't rent one. And especially if you are not Stoddard Media Global HQ.

Houseboats are most excellent for a vacation. Certainly more excellent than an RV. On a houseboat you travel beautiful waterways that have no lanes to the destination of your choice. On an RV you travel on gridlocked asphalt to where you are packed in like sardines at places named Jellystone.

This is definitely not north Georgia but you definitely can't get there by RV & it's definitely not a place called Jellystone.

Let's talk about the houseboat vacation experience. We have in mind a relaxing experience where someone else does the navigating & will not sink the boat like you would. He or she might wear a hat like this but probably otherwise dressed up a little better.

We're talking meals prepared by chefs & served by either the chef or a better dressed captain. All you do is relax & promise to stay out of the way. If you relax & stay out of the way successfully other people probably even remove & wash the dishes.

Now let's talk about north Georgia & houseboats. Very cool houseboats were once made in north Georgia very near where we're talking about you taking vacation. They were made there until they stopped making them there. But some very cool ones still exist & could be made available for purposes of this article that may otherwise not seem to have a purpose.

Now let's talk about the things you could do on your north Georgia houseboat vacation. If you have little imagination & didn't understand words featured on that link the recreation options look like this.

But first since we need to stick another graphic in here so let's make it what the interior of a nicely maintained vintage houseboat looks like.

Now back to the list of north Georgia recreation options:

Hiking & Backpacking, Canoe, Kayak, Tubing, Mountain Biking, Waterfalls, Fishing, Hunting, Horseback Riding, Stargazing & Wildlife. Pardon that wording in the above list is not right & there are so many hyperlinks. We copied & pasted without correction because it's late & we're lazy. We excluded golf but someone could probably make it available if you really want to spoil a good walk.

As we said it's late & we're lazy so we'll wrap up shortly. But we think this sounds like a good idea & wonder if other people do too. Let's close with an image that reflects that pampered theme.

We're not certain the above service would be offered on a north Georgia houseboat vacation. But if you look like that the CEO of Stoddard Media would take the day or month off & travel by RV if necessary to wherever you are & perform that service without it costing you an extra dime.

We'll pick this up again when we've had some sleep.

But there's still space for another nice houseboat vacation image to tide you over until then.

I dedicate this to Sarah whose WiFi I borrowed to put finishing touches on the article. She claimed she would be among the first customers of such a venture as she is overdue for a pampered vacation.

For more information or to let us know if you agree this all sounds like a good idea contact:

Stoddard Media

1400 Market Place Blvd

Cumming GA 30041

678-725-5889

www.stoddard.media