Labor Day happenings (better late than never...)

A couple random pics....came up to find a little storm damage to the tiki bar....a nice sunrise...Lawrence on a pontoon ride....Arnold playing yard games.....and last but not least, Chris and Craig grilling in a rain storm with an electric grill, nuff said....

A few random pics of tiki bar activities.....up next Labor Day....time is flying...

Boys night up, & 4th of July

The weekend before the 4th the boys: me, Joe, Chad, Blake & John went up Saturday afternoon to do a little work and test out the tiki bar...Chad and I came up a couple hours after the other guys. I asked Chad if he thought they may have done any work before we got there. He said nope, no way. I thought maybe they would have....Chad was right, there they were, sitting on the lower deck...beer cans littered the ground. Oh boy, here we go! Half in the bag already, they force (?) Chad and I to take a shot and crack a beer. So much for the work today.

To shorten things up, food was cooked, quarters were played (Chad is the new king of quarters, just ask Joe's liver...don't sit next to Chad...) Eagle Lounge was visited (more shots, see picture), casino run made. Thanks to a good run of cards on the blackjack table, dinner and breakfast were free! It was so good that they shut the table down on us and said no more! Vegas, here we come....

It rained so hard while we were out that when we came back, the lower level was flooded (see picture)

We did manage to do some work Sunday morning. All in all, much fun was had. All ready for the 4th.

4th of July weekend was fun. Great weather, good times. Jacki and Chad came up on the 4th. We went out for our first 4th of July annual boat parade. We knew there was going to be a little water fight between boats and people on their docks. Oh, I'm sorry...did I say little?! We were rookies,and it showed. We had a few water balloons and two small water guns. Oh man were we under manned and under gunned! We got killed! There were some big water balloon launchers, big water cannons, and heavily manned pontoons...wait until next year, we will be ready....

Saturday, there were 9 of us up there and we put the tiki bar to good use...many Golden Tortugas were had!

Here are a few pictures to go along with this post:

Bamboo is up!

June 22nd. Solo trip up for an afternoon. Wanted to get the grass cut up at the cabin, since it's been a couple weeks AND it's been raining so much.....

Well, maybe the tiki gods had a hand in this, but I had no choice but to work on the tiki bar and not cut grass, since it started raining again! I put the final thatch on the roof. I also put the bamboo trim up, it adds a lot. Can you say Gilligan's Island!

Strung some lights up and headed home. Short trip up, but it looks much more like a tiki bar.

Next weekend: boys night up there - with me, Chad, Joe and his friends Blake and John. Time to build a new fire pit, clean out the inside of the boathouse...and, have a few cocktails...well, probably a lot of cocktails....and give the tiki bar some finishing touches and try out the new area. 4th of July is coming up quick!

June 14th. With the impending monsoon coming....the weather terrorists were predicting heavy rain and thunderstorms all day. So, we (my friend Ross and I, and Patti) decided to do this project anyway.

Today's effort was to build a deck next to the lake shore to enjoy our Golden Tortuga drinks from the tiki bar. So, you can sit by the shore and not have potential creepy crawlers at your feet (your welcome Patti...). It's a low deck, meant to look like it is floating just above the ground. And, out over the shoreline a little, so as you sit on it, you just see water.

I met Ross at the Menards up there at 9am. A few sprinkles on the way, but nothing major. Bought the stuff and went back to the cabin. We decided to set up the saw in the garage so as not to be cutting wood in a down pour that was about to happen according to the weather people. Of course, that meant, hauling all that wood by hand down to the lake shore. My back and knees are complaining already, and we haven't even started.

So far the rain is holding off for us, a few little sprinkles here and there, but nothing major. We are using drills plugged into the boathouse, the ungrounded boathouse outlet, with cords running through the wet grass in rain. We didn't say we were smart...

As usual, the weather terrorists are wrong and the heavy thunderstorms and rain didn't appear during the day. Thank you Tiki Gods!

By the end of the day, the deck was built, we didn't get electrocuted, and we managed to have a few beers for our effort. My back and knee's predictions did come true (I am hurting as I type this.....). But the outcome was well worth it.

The deck turned out great. It really does appear to be floating above the ground, especially as you look at it from the lake.

Next up, putting the finishing touches on the outside tiki bar, 4th of July, here we come!

Starting to look like a tiki bar

Sunday June 8th. Joe and Sjeila came up to the cabin to help with the tiki bar. Sjeila more to scope out the big door facing the lake she is going to paint a mural of the tiki guy on. Joe to help me trim the hole and put the reed and thatch on.

So, first things first, what kind of beer did you bring up Joe? Ahhh, that's better!

So, we get the tools out. Stretch the ol' extension cord out, which probably has a whole roll of black electrical tape on it covering the cracks and bare wire....and start measuring. We actually did OK cutting the trim. I was pleasantly surprised. And nobody got electrocuted.

Then we started to put up the roll of reed on the outside wall. To give it that Gilligan's Island look. So the Skipper and his little buddy (who happens to be 6' 9"....) start to roll this stuff along the wall. While Ginger and Mary Ann sit in lawn chairs offering advice. Doing ok until we get to the hole where the bar is. Should have waited to put the trim up until after the reed was on the wall because the trim sticks out a little to match the thickness of the reed. Fricken fracken f......oh well, we just have to deal with it. We manage to get the reed attached, of course, with all the excellent advice from Ginger and Mary Ann......

I suppose we better have a beer before getting the sawsall out to cut the bar opening in the reed. We cut the bottom with no problem. The top, however....Mary Ann says don't do it. Skipper says it will work. Hmmm, didn't work, Mary Ann has a stupid smirk on her face. Skipper says, that's what the trim is for.

We then started attaching the thatch on the roof. Somebody has to climb up there....Little Buddy! The roof actually looks small with him up there! Ok, stop making a grass skirt out of it and let's get busy....

It needs 3 rows, we have 2 good rolls. The third?...not so good, pieces of left over stuff from the old tiki roof from home. A little too old and in rough shape. The tiki budget just got a little higher, have to order another roll. We'll drink cheaper beer next weekend....

Getting closer! 1/2 way there?...

New Tilted Tiki logo! See above!

Nice job Joe! I see T-shirts in our future! ....Now, we gotta get moving on the bar! 4th of July is the target date....I hope there will be a sale on rum around then.....Golden Tortugas here we come! I'm thirsty already.

Tilted Tiki logo!

My son Joe created this prototype for a logo! I like it!

Power tools, hole

May 31st. Well, the time has finally come to cut the hole. Good ol' Ross (Tim the tool man Taylor...) made the trek over to help cut the hole. It's nice when you have the right tools, er, or have a friend with the right tools...We used the standard technique of measure twice cut three times...yes, there were some re-cuts...but, no mistakes that our favorite phrase of the day couldn't take care of - "that's what the trim is for..." Of course, I still have to cut the trim. I'm sure I'll have a new phrase that day. Kids, plug your ears.

After bracing the rafters inside, the hole was cut. The roof didn't cave in. I'd call that a success! Ross was not going to have alcohol before cutting the hole. That was Ross.....I had to have a rum during this process.
We finished securing the new studs to help support the roof. We then removed the braces. The roof didn't cave in. I'd call that another success!

And how do reward success? Well, a few beers I guess...and we did.

Here's a couple pictures. Next up, thatch on the roof, and maybe the siding.

Oh, almost forgot, Yogi heard we were building a tiki bar and decided to pay us a visit the night before.

My son Joe and I went up to the cabin on Blake Lake March 30th to see if we could get the old boat out of the boathouse. Thinking we could slide it out on (what we thought would be) the remaining snow on the ground, since the Twin Cities only had a few spatterings left, a mere 70 miles away. Nope, 2 to 3 feet still on the ground up there. End of first attempt to start project.

Fast forward to May 3rd. Joe and I head up again. My friend Ross, who lives about a half hour away, met us up there as well. He is going to work on the stairs going down to the lake for us. It was a nice warm day up there. Finally. The ice just went out a few days ago.

We all, of course, crack open a beer to help prime our creative process. We head down to the ol' boathouse to take a look. After pondering a few minutes, we decide how to get the boat out....since none of our vehicles have a hitch to hook the trailer up to.....two old guys and one young guy, manage to get the boat out in the water (without getting wet...only one beer in us now). We wheel the old trailer down to the shore and proceed to slide the boat up on shore and up onto the trailer. We need another beer. There had to be an easier way. Yeah, a trailer hitch would've helped...

We crack open another beer and marvel at the accomplishment...that we didn't get wet again! We move our attentions to getting the dock in. We succeed, again, without getting wet. Time for another beer.

We now start to focus on a design and structural strategy to create the opening for the bar in the side of the boathouse. No actual construction to start today. This was only a meeting of the minds, no power tools today.

We did good. Got the boat out, got the dock out. Had a few beers. We started to walk up to the cabin when I mention that I want to chop off a dead tree by the steps and eventually carve a tiki face into it. Expert tiki face carver that I am. Not. Anyway, Ross says "let's take it down now". Joe and I look at each other, with our beer smiles, and say "what the hell, why not!"

We go to the garage, grab the chainsaw, and pull. And pull. And pull. Ross says he can get it going. He pulls. And pulls. Hmmm. Chainsaw not working. Ross says, let's just use hand saws. Who invited Ross anyway....

We grab a ladder and a hand saw and head to the tree. I wanted to cut it off at about 6 feet. So we prop the ladder up, precariously, and start to saw. Of course, we have to reach around to cut the notch because of the hill. Hmmm, the tree is thicker than I thought. My arm is tired, next! Joe climbs up. I get more beer. Joe's arm gets tired. Ross! What would have taken 5 minutes with the chainsaw is now an hour into it. That has to be enough. We tie a rope as high as we can get it and try pulling from down below. We pull. And we pull. And we pull. Consensus is more sawing needed. And more beer. Thank god the neighbors weren't up to witness the three stooges at work. Another hour later we get it down. My old body is gonna hurt later.

I think the tiki gods were watching out for us. How you say? It would have come down so quick with the chainsaw. Ahhh, but three stooges with bellies full of beer operating a chainsaw? No good they decided....

Next trip up, power tools.....no beer...we'll need the rum!