GUSTO: Lake Pend Orielle with Nan and Priscilla

We met Priscilla at Dock F in Bayview around 11:00 in the morning and made our way down to GUSTO. Before long, we were underway, idling slowly out through the bay.

Once clear of the marina, we put up the mast, hauled in the fenders, and put some power to the 250-horsepower Yamaha. We pointed GUSTO north toward East Hope, working our way through some mild chop. Once we passed Whiskey Rock, things smoothed out a bit, and under clear skies and comfortable summer temperatures, we settled in and enjoyed the ride.

Sonya and Priscilla had a good opportunity to catch up on life as the shoreline slipped past. There was no particular hurry, which was really the point.

By lunchtime, we eased into Hope and made our way to the Float House. We pulled GUSTO alongside the guest dock, where Sonya took care of tying us off, putting her developing seamanship skills to work.

The restaurant was bustling for a Tuesday afternoon, but we found a table on the floating patio, partly in the sunshine and partly in the shade. The conversation continued over lunch, and it was simply nice to sit there enjoying the sunshine, the water, and the beautiful surroundings.

Afterward, we idled our way back out of Hope and turned toward the islands lying to the west. Off to the north, toward Bonners Ferry, we could see an active forest fire burning in the distance, its smoke rising against an otherwise clear summer sky.

We made a short run south and west before diverting into Garfield Bay. Somehow, in all our time on Lake Pend Oreille, we had never explored this little corner of the lake.

We found it quite charming.

The bay is relatively shallow by Lake Pend Oreille standards and is surrounded by a scattering of old cabins, newer homes, and a small marina. There’s a boat launch, a general store, and a restaurant—a compact little lakeside community tucked away from the larger reaches of the lake. We didn’t stay long, but it was one of those places that immediately makes you think, We need to come back here sometime.

From Garfield Bay, we put GUSTO back on plane and followed the western shoreline south for the long ride home. Eventually we rounded Cape Horn and turned back toward Bayview.

By the time we pulled into the marina, it was around three in the afternoon.

Nothing particularly remarkable had happened. We hadn’t covered some great distance or accomplished anything that needed checking off a list. We simply spent a few hours together on the water.

And maybe that’s what made the day so good.

It was nice having Sonya and Priscilla aboard, and somewhere along the way it occurred to me that we were putting GUSTO to her real purpose. She’s certainly a boat, and I enjoy all the equipment, capability, and possibilities that come with her. But none of those things are really the point.

The point is where she can take us, who comes along, and what happens along the way.

A Tuesday afternoon. Lunch on a floating patio. A place on the lake we’d never seen before. Two old friends catching up while the boat runs quietly across the water.

These are the little moments that offset the busyness and hectic nature of the lives we all seem to live these days.

The real trick, I suppose, is figuring out how to make room for more of them.