Labor Day Weekend

Three or four day weekend for most folks! What does that mean for us? We will be running all weekend, even on Sunday! Make sure you look us up if you need a ride anywhere around the lake this weekend!

Festival Weekend

Not much to report this weekend as I, Kevin, took the night off on Friday. My brother-in-law, Fred, drove the bus on Friday and I took over on Saturday. The weather was great on Friday night and although Saturday started out in stormy fashion, it turned out to be a great day overall. The Saint Mary-of-the-Woods festival was also a success.

It's time to update you about another one of the establishments at the lake. Acheson's Resort is a "little drinking resort with a fishing problem" and is a place that never ceases to entertain. The dining options include both inside and outside dining right on the water. They also have live entertainment every weekend. Whether it's a live band or karaoke, everyone always seems to have a good time. See an example of the karaoke below.

A new story...

After a year and a half of driving the bus around the lake, I thought I had seen just about all I could see. However, last night brought about a interesting story that had never happened to me before. At about 3:00am I received a call from the Logan County Sheriff's Office and they informed me that they were in need of a taxi for a person who wandered off on foot toward what they thought was home. After two hours of walking, the person realized that they had actually went the wrong way and found themselves on the complete opposite side of the lake. If you click on the link, you can see how far off he was. Now to give the guy some credit, this was his first time at the lake and really didn't know his way around.


View Mishap at the lake in a larger map

As I am typing this, it probably isn't as good of a story on paper as it was when it was actually happening, but you have to realize that he left the bar at 11:00pm and finally figured out he was going the wrong way at 3:am! Oh well, tis the life of a taxicab driver.


Remember, next week is the St. Mary of the Woods Parish Festival which will be held on the grounds Fischer's Flea Market.

Danger Bros. and more!

The Danger Brothers concert was a huge success and although the weather looked like it wasn't going to cooperate all day, the rain held off and it turned out to be a great day. Besides the concert at Oldfield Beach, there was also a wooden keel boat show at the Russel's Point docks. Unfortunately I didn't know that was going on until I happened to drive by and didn't have my camera. It is always really interesting to see these old types of boats. It is basically the same as a classic car show, just on water.

I did want to explore some of the bars around the lake for anyone that may be unfamiliar with the Indian Lake area. I thought I would start with the most popular bar, Froggy's. It has become THE destination for bargoers at Indian Lake. During the summer of '08, the owner of Froggy's decided to install a pool with a swim up bar behind his property. A video below gives a little view of what the end result looks like. There are always bands playing out by the pool, so even if you don't go in, you can always relax and listen to some great music!

New Driver

If you rode on one of our buses last night, you may have noticed that I wasn't the driver. Last night was the first official day for our newest driver, Jaime. I was hoping for a busy night, but with Country Concert going on this weekend, most of our clients were away from the lake for the weekend.

Still no news coverage of the accident that occurred early Saturday morning, but I was able to speak with a Logan County Sheriff last night to confirm what I already knew. Two pedestrians were struck and one was killed and one is at least in critical condition. The person who hit the pedestrians fled the scene. I officer I spoke with thought they may have found the driver sometime on Saturday but was not positive.

On another note, next weekend will be an amazing weekend at the lake, so if you currently do not have any plans, head for the lake. The Danger Brothers will be performing at Oldfield Beach. Contact the Indian Lake Chamber of Commerce at 937-843-5392 or by visiting their website here.

update 7/13/09: Finally a news story about the accident. Read it here

What keeps me up at night...

The fact that I drive a bus full of slightly to moderately drunk people around until at least 3am most Fridays and Saturdays is enough to keep me awake much longer than I should. However, that isn't the only thing that keeps me up at night. At 3:00am, when I get back into my own bed, one would think I could just fall asleep, but I can't. At first, I thought it was just my body telling me that I couldn't go to sleep, keep those eyes open it says, you have a job to do. But long after that job is over I still lie there. Last night reminded me of what else is always in the back of my mind during these late nights. Two pedestrians were struck and killed on a major highway right behind a popular bar at the lake. It was almost 2am when it happened. I haven't found any news stories on it yet, but being this is a small town, the news doesn't get reported as regularly. Based on what I know, it would seem the pedestrians had docked their boat and were crossing the street to go to or from Captain's Point, which is one of two bars that is open at that time. The road is dark, and on a curve, and I can easily see how it could have happened. It really scares me because I was on that road not 15 minutes before that happened.

It made me realize that while what I do can be fun, annoying, rewarding, tiring and downright exhausting all at the same time, it is an important job. Every time someone gets on my bus, they are putting their trust in me to get them where they need to go safely, otherwise they would've driven themselves. I know I am a good driver, but I have no idea who is on the road with me. The other hazards on the road include pedestrians walking on the side of a major highway in all black clothing, golf carts zipping in and out of driveways all over the lake, kids on bicycles in the campgrounds. These are all people whom I need to watch out for. While it is easy to just pass off the job as a bus driver who makes some extra cash on the weekends, I am helping to keep people off the road who shouldn't be driving, keeping an extra keen eye out for those who choose not to ride with me but should, and trying to keep all others who vacation at the lake safe so they don't end up like the poor people last night. I would like to say this is the first time I have seen something like this, but it happens every Summer. Someone leaves for the lake to have a good time and they never make it home. Its scary and I am thankful nothing has happened to me or the people on my bus yet. I am lucky for the people on my bus who are entertaining and keep me alert (as well as the major share of stock I should own in Red Bull for as much of their product as I drink).

Hopefully tomorrow's post is more lighthearted, but I needed to share these thoughts. BE SAFE OUT THERE!

Successful Weekend

Well, after a much needed vacation, I drove 14 hours back from Myrtle Beach only to jump into the Fast Freddie's van for another 6 hours of work. It was certainly an exhausting weekend. The lake was extremely busy and I think everyone had a good time. Attendence at the fireworks was down this year because it rained all day, but the show went on as planned anyway. From what I saw, the show was a success, but I was so busy in the van that I couldn't enjoy the fireworks myself. I do know that the smoke from the fireworks (both the professional show and the amatuer shows in backyards) created a dense fog that covered the entire lake for the duration of the night. While I was not able to get any pictures of my own, the Bellefontaine Examiner has an excellent slideshow of the events on their website.