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It's pop quiz time! See if you can fi ll in the missing word: "____ is all about the community of friends you are with. We can't wait to see each other each week and are sad when we have to leave on Sunday. This is what ____ does to you. You become part of a family that extends beyond your time on the water." If you guessed "houseboating," then you're clearly of the same mind as Tony and Jaime Bianco. This Ohio couple has long been passionate about boating but started really appreciating the unique lifestyle of houseboating in 2013, when they moved their jet boat from the vast Lake Erie to Pleasant Hill Lake, Ohio. "Lake Erie, although gorgeous, was simply too big," Tony explains. "It was so big we simply couldn't fi nd a place to fi t in and call home. The number of boats on Lake Erie nearly doubled in 10 years and it got to be too overwhelming." The Biancos were introduced to Pleasant Hill through friends and immediately fell in love. At only 850 acres and located in the middle of nowhere, this boating retreat promised peace and quiet as well as a tight-knit community of friends they would soon fi nd themselves a big part of. "The lake is an hour from our home, and that distance offers us something important. Whenever we go to the lake, we always feel like we're on vacation. The fact that it takes us an hour to get there helps us unwind from the busy week of work and subconsciously plants the seed that we're going away on vacation again," Tony says. Finding A Rhythm While enjoying their small jet boat, the Biancos quickly fell into the rhythm at Pleasant Hill and eventually graduated to a new level of relaxation onboard a pontoon boat. "It allowed us to cook some awesome foods out on the water," Tony remembers. "Wherever there are awesome foods, friends are not far away. Within a very short period of time, we made a LOT of friends and really looked forward to seeing them each weekend. Living in northeast Ohio, the weather only allows you excellent boating three to fi ve months out of the year. So we have learned to enjoy this group as much as possible during that short summer window in Ohio." Houseboating Friends It wasn't long before Tony and Jaime started seriously looking into buying a houseboat, thanks to their houseboating friends. And though the Biancos found plenty of options all over the Midwest, nothing seemed to fi t their needs or wants. Worse yet, with only one houseboat dock at Pleasant Hill Marina with completely occupied slips, they wouldn't O' Sole Mio 1977 houseboat becomes modern dream boat By Austa Cook | Photography by Tony Bianco O' Sole Mio 4 Houseboatmagazine.com