BB Riverboats

A few months ago I bought a pass for the BB Riverboats. It was literally the day I decided to challenge myself to do new things. I know I went on a cruise for a field trip in grade school. The key things I remember are, I got to hold a tarantula and they had good burgers.

I scheduled a cruise for my mom, 2 sister and myself for Saturday May 4th, Derby day. That Friday it was decided that we were all going to dress up for the cruise like we were going to the Derby. AKA we were going to rock the biggest brimmed hats we could find. Which is a great idea, minus the fact I can never find a hat the fits my large head.

That's right, a long with my size 13 feet I have a head that is too big for most hats. I could joke about how it means my brain is just that much bigger, but it kind of bums me out. Seriously I would have such an extensive cute hat collection if they could fit on my noggin. Like shoes, it is normally impossible for me to find a cute hat the fits. Which might actually be a good thing. It isn't so much of a drain on my bank account.

My mom and sister Michelle took me to Target that night. They had me try on cute hat, after cute hat. There were royal blue hats with cute flowers. A hat that reminded my of Mary Poppins. All of which looked cute on the rack. Really they were darling. But after plopping them on my head and trying to force it on as hard as possible, the effect wasn't so cute. 

The normal look I manage to accomplish
while trying on hats.

I wanted to give up. Seriously, I was half tempted to just forgo the whole hat thing. But Michelle, Julie, and my mom weren't as ready to give up as I was. When I got to my parent's house that day my mom gave me another hat and told me to "Just try it." It was a wide brimmed beach hat I got for Christmas a few years ago that never fit. I donned the hat to prove my point. Low and behold it fit! My mom cut the band at the base and stretched it. That my have ruined the integrity of the hat, but it would at least hold up for the day. Which is all I needed.

 Derby Day Attire

The ride to the boat was a little nerve wracking. In my traditional fashion we some how ended up getting lost on the way there. I am the queen of getting lost. I have a Garmin in my car and Google maps on my phone and I still manage to lose my way. Honestly, I think that takes some kind of genius. We found ourselves at Big Daddy Liquor. From there Julie guided us to where we needed to be.

We managed to make it in time but at the back of the line for the boat. Which meant we got slim pickings for seating. All of the seats on the perimeter of the deck were taken. Leaving us with 4 seats in the middle. I was kind of bummed. I really wanted us to have fun. This was the first outing like this I ever planned for my sisters and mom. I didn't want it to be a let down.

Mom trying to get people
on the shore to wave

I should have known better. Honestly, I think I could have fun with those ladies simply sitting on a mound of dirt. We got some drinks from the bar after the boat got moving and listened a little to the tour guide. I didn't really pay much attention to the tour. The scenery was beautiful and it was nice being on a boat. I love boats. The stories coming out of the mouth's of the ladies I was with were more interesting.

Half way through we managed to get seats around the edge of the boat. It ended up being a really lovely day.

When the cruise ended we walked down to Claddagh Irish Pub and sat looking at the river some more. I had such a great day. Anytime we have girl time in the family is great. I love all the boys in my family. But girl time with all three of these crazy ladies is so rare, that when it happens it is bound to be special.