Let it Rain!

Finally, the sky opened up and a few drops actually hit the ground in Pontiac before they evaporated. I'm not sure how much rain we got last evening -- I took this pic this morning, but I think there might have already been some water in there from last week? Heck, I don't know. Not very helpful, am I? The lake is going down. Josh is adjusting cables today. We're about 3 feet low now. But not enough to cause any problems.

Gainesville schools start this Friday! Two of my helpers -- Aaron and Valerie -- are going back to high school. Aaron is a senior and Valerie a junior. Sam Eubank's last day at the dock is Friday. He's leaving for his first year of college at Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg, MO. I think he's going to help us out Labor Day weekend, but other than that, you won't be seeing him after this week! So if you do see him this week, wish him luck and tell him good-bye. Luckily Justin will continue living in Pontiac this fall while he attends Missouri State University in West Plains. I'm glad to have his help through the next couple months.

The Matador

Well, it held my attention for about an hour... And really, that was a struggle. Not good. And we even got it on pay per view! So we had to spend actual money on it! Oh well.

Pics from the Blowout 2006

Check out these pics from the Blowout last Saturday. Thank you to Eric Callahan, who took all of these. He did a great job! As you can see, quite a few came out for the party. I hope everyone had a good time. Thank you to everyone who brought food. We had so many side dishes to go along with our pulled pork -- which was prepared by chefs Kelly Laurie, Bill Murphy, Gary Peterson and Tim Morgan. Mmm... mmm... good. We got nice compliments on that. Oh, and I have a few random dishes and serving spoons at my house. I'll get those to the dock so you can pick them up.

I hope everyone enjoys the next couple of weekends before school starts. Can you believe it's that time already? And Labor Day is just around the corner. Geez. Where did the summer go?

Next on the agenda: Mark your calendars for October 7 -- the first annual Pontiac Lake Cleanup. Get excited to pick up trash! And also we'll do some food and drink. And Allen Ross will entertain us that evening. Location for all these festivities to be announced. Matt and I are getting ready to watch The Matador. Have you seen it? Is it any good? I'll let you know. Cheers!

And a good time was had by all...

The Blowout yesterday was awesome. I couldn't have been happier with the turnout. I will give a full recap with pictures early this week. Until then...

If Roger Builds It...

... Everyone will be so happy! I just know it! The gate on the main walkway is up! Yay Roger! You'll notice it is plain white. Zac Eubank is going to paint it for us. It might not be finished until this fall, but stay tuned. It's going to be so cool.

Also... T-shirt sale at the dock this weekend. Everything is 20% off (not including the Quaint Little Village and Red Neck Yacht Club shirts). I'm planning to revamp our clothing selection and styles for next summer. If anyone has any suggestions on what you'd like to see in the store (i.e. shirts, shorts, hats, accessories...) please let me know!

Blowout this weekend!

Hey all. As many of you know, our annual customer appreciation party -- The Blowout -- is this Saturday! We have decided the location. It's going to be at Hollingsworth. We will have portable restrooms there. So no worries about that. Please come by boat or car. We'll have a DJ set up on shore. Food tables and tents will also be set up on shore. If you'd like to bring a side dish, either bring it to Hollingsworth at 1:00 or drop it at the marina Saturday morning, and we'll take it down there for you -- we thought this would be handy especially for those of you who are going by boat. And wear your swimsuit! Let's enjoy the lake while it's still summertime!

Also, Bill Bauer will be selling raffle tickets on Saturday to raise money for the 2007 Pontiac Fireworks. Donate $10 for a chance to win $500 to the marina (drawing to be held July 1, 2007). Or donate $25 for three chances to win.

So... any questions? Just shoot me an e-mail at info@pontiaccove.com or call the dock: 417-679-3676. See you there!

So that's what a striper looks like...

Pat Godwin, of Cape Girardeau, caught these two stripers on Bull Shoals Lake last week. One weighed about 20 pounds and the other about 17 pounds. Very impressive! We rarely see stripers brought in here. As many of you know, there are few left in this lake, and if you do catch one, it's going to be at least as big as these. And speaking of stripers... we do have a petition at the dock to get stripers re-stocked in the lake. So if you're so inclined, come in and sign it!

The Weather is Here...

So the crawdad boil last Thursday was fun, I heard. I was actually in Springfield that evening for a bridal shower. We had ordered a quarter barrel of beer for the boil, and I learned the next day that there was no tub and no tap! Yikes! I was pretty hot when I heard that, and I called up our distributor to find out what had happened, and basically what happened is I didn't request that stuff when I ordered the keg, and they didn't ask me if I needed that stuff. So I guess it wasn't really my fault or theirs? Or maybe it was both our faults? Anyway, it won't happen again! Oh well. They still had fun. Matt said he ate 50 crawdads. Geez.

What a beautiful weekend we had. The temperature was just about as perfect as it can be in the summertime. Warm, but not hot. (Cindy P. and I decided we like it a leeeeeetle hotter actually... but we'll take 84 over 104 any day!)

August is 8 days away. Unbelievable! Summer is going by too fast. Enjoy it while you can!

Suck the Heads

The Crawdad Boil is this Thursday, July 20, at the Pontiac Park pavilion. A group of people are going to the river Wednesday night about dark to catch the little suckers. And then the boil starts Thursday evening around 7 p.m. Please come and help us catch and eat them! Any questions, ask at the boat dock, or talk to Mike Cochran. He organizes it every year. Drinks provided. Corn on the cob and potatoes are cooked in the boil with the crawdads. If you'd like to bring a dish, that's fine, but not necessary. See you there!

Well it's a HOT one...

7:19 a.m. and it's already warm outside. Gotta love summer in southern MO! It's been a great weekend so far. Several folks were out on the lake yesterday. I wasn't one of them. Matt and I have been unpacking! If you didn't know... we've been living with my PARENTS for the past 5 months, since we moved back here. They have been building a house, and it is almost finished. They decided on Friday to go ahead and move their stuff out. So now we're unpacking boxes and painting. It's fun! The house is a disaster. But it's a good disaster. We're getting settled. Have a great Sunday!

THE BLOWOUT!!!

So... several of you have probably gotten your Blowout invitations by now. What do you think about our idea??????? Good? Bad? Let us know!!

Um... Nevermind

I spoke too soon! The sun is out, and it seriously feels much less humid. I think it might be a pretty day after all!

Hot 'n Heavy

It is one of those days... when you step outside from your air-conditioned house into 100 percent humidity... and you gasp for air! Yuck! It is nasty outside today. There is a 100 percent chance of rain. We sure do need it. But my goodness, we'd like to see the sunshine again someday soon!

Apparently the night fishing has been really good. That's my fishing tip for the day. :)

Have a good one!

The Trash Lady

Hello all. Happy Monday... that's an oxymoron isn't it. I need to explain the trash situation on the new dock. So... over the past couple weeks we had a few complaints from customers on the new dock that people were putting trash in their boats. I can't imagine that anyone would do anything like that. But the trash has been a bit of an issue for us too. Seems like we can't really keep up. There were only two trash cans over there (and two cans for recycling aluminum), and they were always full or overflowing. So, we moved one of our dumpsters to the parking lot at the new dock. So please carry your trash to the dumpster when you leave the dock. This morning there was a pile of trash at the entrance to the dock. I don't know if folks didn't see the dumpster, or didn't realize that they were supposed to use it. But anwyay, the recycling bins are still for aluminum only. The cart (used to transport stuff from your car to your boat or vice versa) is also not for trash. (I heard folks were using it as a trash can.) Just please take your trash to the dumpster. If you have any questions or concerns, just call me at the dock or e-mail me. Thank you for your cooperation!

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz........

It's pouring in the OC on 4th of July. Bummer dude. I keep checking the radar, and it really looks like it's going to clear up later this afternoon. But if not, I'm definitely going home and taking a nap at 2:00. :)

Ooh... Ahh... !!

The Pontiac fireworks were last night, and they were spectacular! What an awesome show. And it was just incredible to see all the boats out on the water. I actually watched from Gary and Cindy Peterson's point. What a view. Once again, thanks to Bill Bauer for coordinating the whole thing. And to Angie and Skip Dechau, who spent practically all day Sunday setting up for the show. And many others helped set up, but I don't know names, so thank you! (You know who you are.)

Well, there are still two days left of this (four-day) holiday weekend. The weather couldn't be better. Enjoy! Happy Monday!

Red, White and Blue!

Good day everyone! It's a beautiful day in Pontiac. We're gearing up for a busy weekend. I can't believe the 4th of July is upon us. Summer is going by way too fast! I'm sure you all know, but here's a quick rundown of the local fireworks displays on Bull Shoals Lake:

Saturday, July 1: Theodosia
Sunday, July 2: Pontiac (woo-hoo!!)
Tuesday, July4: Bull Shoals dam

Bill Bauer was in charge of the fund-raising for the Pontiac fireworks for the third year in a row... We can't thank him enough. Without his hard work, we wouldn't have fireworks! Also, Skip and Angie Dechau are planning to shoot the fireworks again this year. Thanks ahead of time to them for their hard work. (Especially in the heat!) And it is heating up again, after a couple days of 70-some degree weather at the beginning of the week -- it was pretty nice, really. But the weekend is almost here, and we want it to be hot and sunny!

Remember: If you watch the Pontiac fireworks from the cove, be sure to stay clear of the shooting site. I think there was a bit of a problem last year with folks getting inside the markers. And the reason those markers are there is because that's kind of a danger zone. (Just think of that Kenny Loggins song from the movie Top Gun. And be safe!)

Okay, that's all I've got for now. Blowout invitations will be in the mail soon. Get excited... we're totally revamping it this year, with a whole new location. :)

Spearfishing Recap and a Name Change

The second event of 2006 at Pontiac Cove Marina was a soaker! Similar to the Blessing, it rained ALL day on Saturday for the spearfishing tournament. But that's okay! Also similar to how the Blessing went down -- the great success that it was -- we still had a grrrrrreat turnout for the tournament. Fifty-five divers entered this year -- last year there were 51. The entry fee was bumped up from $20 to $25 and so the purse was that much sweeter -- $1,375.00. The tournament is 100% payback, so the winners all got a percentage of that money. The biggest prize went to Roy Waddell of Mountain Home, Ark. for first place catfish. It was a blue cat weighing in at 9 pounds, 11 ounces. The prize was $412.50. PCM's own Josh Simpson took second place with an 8-pound, 7-ounce blue cat. And PCM's Chris Shaw took third place with an 8-pound, 1-ounce blue cat. First place rough fish went to Jeremy Manier, of Highland, Ill., who shot a 10-pound, 8-ounce carp. Don Heskett, of Centerview, Mo., and Bob Benson, of Imperial, Mo., tied for second, both having shot a 10-pound, 7-ounce carp. Ken Rader of Rogers, Ark. had the biggest walleye at 2 pounds, 12 ounces. We handed out awards and door prizes at the Pontiac Park Pavilion. Just Jackie's catered the event. More than 100 people showed up at the park for our after party. It was really fun!

Different subject... I'm sure if you're a devoted reader of this blog, then you noticed I changed the name! There is a large group of friends who come down here practically every weekend during the summer, and they spend many, many weekends here all year long. They refer to our little piece of paradise here as "The O.C.", which stands for Ozark County, of course. But it's a little inside joke among them. And it's really catching on. The reason being: You've at least heard of the elitist society of Orange County, California, right? And perhaps you've even seen an episode or two of the hit television series, The OC, on FOX. Anyway, it's a funny comparison, the West Coast O.C. to our O.C. that is. But for those of us who love the lake, whether we live here full time or we call this place our second home, we know there really is no comparison.

Bubble, Bubble, Bubble...

We're excited and ready for the spearfishing tournament on Saturday! We're hoping to see the same divers back from past years and new ones, too. We have some great prizes to give away this year. So even if you enter and don't place, you still have a chance to walk away with something really cool. Maybe even a brand new speargun??? I don't know... You'll have to wait and see. :)

Remember, registration is from 7 to 9 at the dock Saturday morning. We'll give you all the details you need for later at that time. The weather is supposed to be beautiful. Mid-90s and sunny. We'll have food after the weigh-in and prizes at Hollingsworth. Anyone can eat. Cost is $5 a plate. Jackie is catering the event, so we know the food will be good!

We have a new face at PCM. Valerie Geroff has joined the staff for the summer. She is a native of Pontiac, and she grew up around this boat dock. (I remember when she was born, which is a little scary for me... Makes me feel like I'm gettin' old... NEVER!) Anyway, we're very excited to welcome her to the staff. If you see her, introduce yourself. She's a bright young woman, very friendly and eager to help you.

That's it for today! Call or e-mail anytime with questions or concerns.

SMILE! You're on PCM's cammm-era!

So, I've had several people ask me when we're going to put a gate on the main walkway, and here is my answer... The reason we haven't put it up is because Lakeland Industries (the company that supplies all our materials to build the docks) is building the gate for us. And they are soooo far behind schedule. Just to give you an idea... Tim called them the day the storm hit (Feb. 16) and ordered materials for a new dock. Those of you who have been down here know that we got the materials 3 months later, and our guys finished it just in time for Memorial weekend. Yikes. But I assure you, as soon as we get the gate we will put it up. Now, having said that... You can rest easy knowing that 1. We do not have a major theft problem here, although I do acknowledge there have been instances in the past, which is why we put the gate up in the first place, but still, most definitely not a major problem; and 2. We have a new security system this year. There are cameras in and around the dock recording who comes and goes, and what goes on at PCM 24/7. So, if you have any problems, please come see me. Believe me, I will be delighted to go back to the tape and see (literally SEE) exactly who caused the problem. Hee hee hee. Mwah ha ha.