Houseboats always intrigued me, as what's not to like about a condo that floats. Self-contained, easy to maneuver, and stable, they struck me as a dandy place to spend a vacation, but it took a friend in Boston to actually get me aboard. He invited my husband and me to join his sister and two nephews for a four-day houseboating adventure on Lake Powell.

A 186-mile-long reservoir created by the flooding of Glen Canyon, Lake Powell is one of the premier houseboating places in the entire country. The lake begins at the Glen Canyon Dam in Page, Arizona, and extends into the heart of Utah. Along the 1,960 miles of meandering shoreline (more shoreline than the entire west coast of the United States), there are scores of cozy coves and sandy beaches, perfect for houseboat mooting.

Lake Powell is only one of dozens of houseboating locations around the country, however. From Alaska's Prince William Sound to the Florida Keys, folks can rent houseboats and leisurely tour America's waterways.

Some of these waterways, like Lake Powell, are manmade. Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks, for example, was created in 1931 with the completion of Bagnell Dam by the Union Electric Company. With 1,300 miles of weaving, wooded shoreline, it is prime houseboating and fishing territory. Not far from Las Vegas, Nevada, 550-mile Lake Mead, created by Hoover Dam, is also a favorite with houseboaters.

Lake Cumberland in Kentucky took 11 years to complete. Wolf Creek Dam was created to interrupt the flow of the Cumberland River, backing it up over 100 miles and making it one of the world's largest lakes. Located in the foothills of south-central Kentucky's Cumberland Mountains, it is said to be the most popular houseboating destination east of the Mississippi.

Georgia's Lake Lanier was originally created for flood control and hydroelectric power, but with its green-hilled shoreline and great fishing, it is now one of the state's most beautiful lakes and a popular houseboating spot.

Lake Amistad, which covers portions of both Texas and Mexico, is the third largest international manmade lake in the world. A desert landscape, 10,000-yearold pictographs, and superb diving conditions make this a popular houseboating destination. California's Sacramento Delta, an area created by levees to keep the farmland from flooding, draws houseboaters to its 1,000 miles of navigable waterways, which amble by quiet coves and historic towns.