We are firm believers in boating safety and posted a safety reminder earlier this summer.  Details are sketchy at this point on the cause of the drowning.  We hope that more details emerge because it is a learning experience for other boaters.

We have noticed a major increase in activity from Game Wardens and Police on Lake Grapevine this summer.  On weekends you typically see one or two law enforcement boats on Lake Grapevine.  This was not normally seen in prior summers.

Everyone please be safe out there and always wear a life vest when swimming in the lake.

The Good

On Saturday night, we stopped by Little Pete’s for dinner after a day of fun on Lake Grapevine.  The place was brimming with people, loud and full of energy.  Our party of eight was seated almost immediately in the bar area.  Our server, who we think was also the bartender, greeted us quickly.  He took our orders and brought our drinks out right away.  The service was top notch.

Our table ordered a lot of food including fried pickles, peel and eat shrimp, burgers, po-boys, among other things.  All the food was delicious, just as it always is. The evening went just as expected.  The entire experience was a lot of fun and reminded us of why this is one of our favorite places to dine or just hang out and have a good time.

The next day was a different experience altogether.

Please note, we do not really do negative reviews at GrapevineTxOnline.  It just goes against what we are trying to do.  And it is our thought that our experience at a place may be entirely different than someone else, so why not let other people try it and judge for themselves?  We have to have at least a “B” level experience at a place to even consider doing a review.  But as we stated earlier, we LOVE Little Pete’s so we hope the following was just a one time type of experience.

We had already planned to take the family to Little Pete’s for Father’s Day.  We were even promoting the Father’s Day event at Little Pete’s on this site.  Little Pete’s was running a special that all father’s would get 1/2 off of their meal which seemed like a good deal to us.

The Bad

Little Pete's Patio

So we arrive Sunday morning at around 10:00 AM wanting to enjoy breakfast / early lunch at Little Pete’s because we know they have a great breakfast.  We are seated immediately on the huge patio that looks out to the marina.  The the temperature is pretty mild and there is a light breeze that makes us appreciate sitting outside.

We did get to sit and appreciate the patio for about 10 to 15 minutes before a server even stopped by to say hello.  And the place did not appear to be that busy.  It was not nearly as busy as the previous evening.  We went ahead and placed our drink and food order at the same time.  About ten minutes later, our drinks arrived.  We thought this was great, the wonderful breakfast food we ordered would arrive at any moment.

The Waiting

Our server comes by several times to notify us that our food “should be out shortly” or that “the kitchen is pretty backed up” or that she “will go check on our food.”

After about an hour of waiting on our meals, our one-year-old starts to get pretty feisty.  Not only is he hungry, but he is getting bored.  The patio scene serves up only so much entertainment for the little guy.

Somewhere around 11:30 am our food finally arrives.  The food is hot and very good.  We did not order anything overly difficult.  It was breakfast food; eggs, bacon, toast and the like.  At about noon, we finish and get our bill.

Here is the part where we would have never included our Father’s Day experience in this review.  We would have forgotten about the long wait for service and for our meals.  We could have overlooked those experiences.  Hey, things happen.  Cooks quit or do not show up.  Things are delayed.  Maybe you run out of eggs and have to go to the store for more.  We get that.

But what we do not get is that two hours after arriving for breakfast food, we get the bill and they do not even bother to give us the 1/2 price meals for either my Dad or I.  Seems a little strange to run a Father’s Day special for 1/2 off meals for Dad’s and then not follow through.  The server had a full hour and forty-five minutes to at least get the bill correct.  She did not.

We did not want to wait around any longer so we paid the bill in cash and left.  Very disappointed.

Like we said earlier, we are willing to forgive and forget.  We love Little Pete’s and will be back.  We have our fingers crossed that this was just one of those days.

Both drownings on Lake Grapevine over the last few weekends have a common thread.  Each Individual jumped into the lake without a life jacket and then got into some trouble and could not get back to the boat.  Life jackets are called life jackets for a reason.  They save lives.

Even for strong swimmers, entering a lake without a life jacket is a risky proposition.  Waves from wind and other boats make swimming in a lake much more difficult than in a pool.  And a day out in the sun typically tires your body and muscles.  So the lesson is that it is better to be safe.  If you want to swim around in the lake, do so.  But take a life jacket or other US Coast Guard approved flotation device with you.

I can remember being stopped several years ago by game wardens on a lake while fishing with my Dad.  The wardens only asked to see the life vests in the boats.  I asked the game warden why he stopped us just to check for life vests and he replied simply, “I’ve never had to pull a body from the bottom of the lake that had a life vest on.”  It has had an impact me ever since.

Here are some simple boating safety tips from the Texas Parks and Wildlife website:

- Always wear a life jacket.
- Avoid alcohol.
- Be especially careful on personal watercrafts.
- Children younger than age 13 must wear a Coast Guard approved life jacket while underway.
- Enroll in a boater education class.
- Don’t overload your boat.
- Operate at a safe speed.
- Always have a passenger serve as a lookout in addition to the operator.
- Watch out for low water areas or submerged objects.

Safety always comes first on a boat.  The number one goal of a boat captain is to get all his passengers home safely.

Please be careful on Lake Grapevine and other area lakes this summer.

The location is Scott’s Landing Marina on Lake Grapevinein Oakgrove Park. The address is 2500 Oak Grove Loop S, Grapevine, Texas.

General admission tickets are $15.00 per person or $100.00 for VIP tickets.

You can bring lawn chairs and blankets, but no coolers.  There will be food and drinks available at the event.  The event benefits the American Cancer Society.

There will be plenty of live music including Bowling For Soup and one of our favorite Texas country music artists, Hayes Carll.

Here’s the live music schedule:

Out 920 – 1 pm – 2 pm

Sean Russell 2 pm – 3:00 pm

Stone River Band 3:30 pm – 5 pm

True Bone 5:30 pm – 7 pm

Hayes Carll 7:30 pm – 9 pm

Bowling For Soup 9:30 pm – 11 pm

This sounds like our kind of event.  What a great way to get out and enjoy the lake and some great live music all while supporting a great cause!

The battle royale lasted about 25 minutes before the pink reel was declared the victor when the catfish surfaced and was netted.

Per the Dallas Morning News:

“Luckily, I keep a big net in the boat because we use live shad for bait, and you never know what you’ll catch when you put a live bait out,” Jackson said. “I managed to get the fish in the net and then managed to get the net in the boat.”

We would love to post a picture of the actual fish (or pink fishing reel) if anyone has one and can send it in. It must have been one heck of a battle.

From their website:

Founded in 1997, RAW has grown to over 500 members. On a typical Saturday or Sunday morning, 35-50 people meet for the group run/walk.

RAW has an outstanding reputation for community involvement, generosity and the ability to put on a darn good race. The club has adopted Horseshoe Trails where we run and walk, and we’re involved with all park clean-up days. Between 2000 and November 2005, the club donated over $60,000 to non-profits, including Texas Special Olympics, various dog rescue groups, Camp I-Thonka-Chi (a pediatric burn camp) and several September 11th groups. We are funded by membership dues and our annual races . The Bold in the Cold 5k and 15 k is held each January. The Hound Dog Hustle 5k and one-mile fun run is in April, and the Double Trouble 5k and 10k races are each fall. These races have a stellar history of being well-organized and downright fun. Our race T-shirts, mugs and flyers have all won “Best of” awards by Runners World Magazine and Runners Triathlete News.

Membership is only $20 a year for individuals and $30 for families. Membership benefits include: our bimonthly national award-winning newsletter, The Footprint, discounts at local running stores and discounted entry fees to RAW races.

Lake Grapevine Runners and Walkers has great website with much more information including a map of their location and photos from their members.

Running or walking is a great way to get out and exercise and make some new friends at the same time. Sounds like a fun group of runners and walkers.