We had a unique experience in Lake Geneva. I'm certain that it is not surprising that there were a lot of boats there. We secured passage on the only mail boat (yes, MAIL) in the states for Friday morning. About a week before our trip CBS Sunday Morning aired a story about the mail boat. The story showed some details of the route and try outs for very brave delivery people. It intrigued both of us, and we were happy to learn that they sell tickets for tourists to ride along.
We watched from across that boat as a young (I'm guessing about 17), blond, athletic girl jumped off the bow of the boat, ran to a mail box, opened it, put the mail inside, took out the outgoing mail, RAN back to the boat, placed the outgoing mail in her teeth, and jumped back on the stern of the boat. You might be wondering why she jumped off the bow and back on the stern of the boat; the boat was moving the whole time!
If that's not enough, the poor girl told us the history of different parts of the lake and lakeside properties between deliveries. I'm guessing that she slept really well that night!
My dad used to tell us that a boat is just a hole in the water you throw money into. I've never owned a boat, so I don't really know if it's true, but my dad is generally correct. I figure that the people who own the mail boat have that solved: get your boat to earn money and it can pay for itself. They make enough off the $20 per person that they don't even charge for the deliveries!
What I really want is a canoe. Now I just have to figure out how to get it to work for me and my hole in the water can pay for itself.