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Great Story and A Smart Move Buying The Lake Property
It is becoming more and more common for Lake Front Properties To Be Passed
From One Generation To The Next
The Feeling Being That The New Generation Could Never Acquire Such Properties
With The Escalation of Water Front Real Estate
Our Plan Is To Pass Homes To The Children and Hopefully The Grandchildren

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Thanks very kindly!

Yes, we felt that the circumstances for this purchase were rare, and the location, dock situation, etc. were simply ideal. We’ve not had a millisecond of buyers’ remorse!

Your lake and dock certainly look beautiful!

Peace.
 
(lol) Shmily

Don't want you to think I am misleading you
I have a thing about taking pics
When I first joined the forum
Someone said be sure to post some pics
I am pretty sure people are saying that should never of been said (lol)
Here is a pic of my home and dock with Benny

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"Lake Living Is Living At It's Best"
 
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Looks like this thread hasn't been used in a while, so here's my story.
I grew up on a large farm in SE Wisconsin. We farmed about 3,400 acres and had about 300 pigs and 60 head of beef, and grandma had her 30 or so chickens. We didn't have time to do much for outdoor sports/activities outside of farming. We had a guy that would take us salmon fishing on a charter boat in exchange for hunting on our land. That was about the extend of my water/boating experience growing up.
Fast forward past college. My best friend in college (and still my best friend) both got a job in the Green Bay area, so we were roommates again in the real world. Two single guys living together did not help us 'mature' as we were bad influences on each other and kept partying like we were still in college. Fast forward another 2 or 3 years, and my roommate's older brother bought a 20' open bow boat. We would head up to Door County almost every weekend to 'go boating'. Cruising around the bay, anchoring at Nicolet Bay at Penninsula State Park, heading to Chambers Island, etc. was so much fun. We would be out on the water early in the morning to sunset. The sunset over the bay is absolutely gorgeous.
My roommate's brother is a mason and when the economy tanked in 2008, he fell on hard times as the volume of construction dropped and he sold the boat.
Fast forward another 5 years. My wife's mom was diagnosed with cancer and they had to take a large lump out of her leg. It was so big that she lost a lot of muscle and now has a hard time moving and getting around on anything that is not paved and flat. A few months later, my mom dies unexpectedly during a knee replacement surgery. Both my mom and my wife's mom were close to retiring when these events happened. Both had planned on doing more traveling after retiring since both of them didn't have much money for 'play' up to this point.
After these events, my wife and I both talked about how to make sure we enjoy life while we can without making too much of a sacrifice for the future. I brought up that I enjoyed being out on the boat. We were going to buy a boat. We discussed it and bought a mid-eighties 18' open bow Sea Ray for $1800. It ran, but was fairly beat up. The point of buying this boat was to make sure we both enjoyed it, could learn the ins and outs of boating, docking, launching, etc and if we it the dock a little too hard or anything and scratched the boat, it wouldn't ruin everything. The first couple of years we used it about as much as we could. The trailer wasn't in good shape, so we didn't feel comfortable towing it any significant distance, so we stayed within 45 minutes of where we lived. One beautiful Saturday afternoon, we were docked at the City Deck in downtown Green Bay, and our boat was struck by another, larger boat where the guy claimed he tripped and accidentally pushed the throttle forward while he was coming in behind us to dock. Long story short, our boat hit the dock hard enough that it damaged the transom and we were taking on water. The bilge pump could keep up, but it never shut off either. It would cost us $6000 to repair. While we had some awesome memories of this boat, it wasn't worth it to fix an $1800 boat. We went without a boat the next summer (2018).
Fast forward another couple of months, my wife takes me to the Green Bay boat show and says that she wants a pontoon. She misses being on the water. She wanted something a little more universal where we can go fishing off of it, just take it for a cruise, have family and friends on it for some fun, etc. We now have one on order and expect it in late April. I usually don't wish time to go by fast, but I am so excited to be getting our boat.
 
Where were you from in SE Wisconsin? I grew up in Twin Lakes.
 
Yes know it well. Have many friends from that area from college.
 
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Excellent story! So glad you took the time to relate.

Welcome to the Bennington family!
 
Growing up in Missouri my parents had a friend who had a boat and taught me how to ski on Lake of the Ozarks. So when my kids were growing up we had a Mastercraft as my sons skied competitively and we went to many meets and lakes. I am 62 now and that first experience at Lake Ozark forever changed my life! We live in Jefferson City and my husband wanted to buy a condo at the lake for a getaway. I said I would but only if we had a boat. I wanted my grandkids to experience the love of boating and skiing. When I did the research I knew Bennington was the only boat I wanted! I have never regretted that decision! My grandkids are over the moon!! One of their cousins was on our boat last year, had never been on a boat and called his dad in Montana and said “Dad I am living the good life!” Out of babes mouth speaks the truth! I realize life is about making memories and nothing is more important to me! Thank you Bennington for a great boat and for the memories! We have a 2016 — 2575 RSRX with a 300 Mercury.
 
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I have been away for sometime due to many reasons
Not as active here but with winter I am hoping to have a bit more time
With saying that I wanted to reactivate this thread
I enjoyed hearing and relating to the stories and felt it brought us a bit closer,
as .....
The Bennington Family Grows
I hope this thread grows along with it :)

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Take A Moment and Share Your Story With Us

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The Gold Standard In Pontoons
 
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With Boating Season Right Around The Corner
The New Year Brought Many New Members
Take A Moment or Two and Tell Us A Little About Yourself
Allow Me To Say, Welcome To The Bennington Family


 
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