Summer Travels #1

We left Jug Fork and headed east on Thursday, May 25th. As usual for summer travel, we had no idea when we would return home. 

Don't worry, we didn't actually ride that way...even though I am sure he would have enjoyed it. Here is what we really looked like.

Our only planned destination was Mountain Rest, SC. We would be staying at Oconee State park through the Memorial Day weekend. On Monday, we would decide to stay longer or move on somewhere else. The point in going here was to meet up with the friends we connected with last year on the river in TN. They have an annual friend gathering at this park every year. We were invited last year and really enjoyed their company. We are the youngest of all the families. We love hearing all of their stories. They have traveled all over the US having all kinds of fun adventures.  My favorite story this year was Pete telling how he travelled all over hitch hiking when we was 18/19. He said he was in Chattanooga at home watching the river. He said he realized that the river is getting to see more than him. He said he was just doing the same thing every day. So, he struck out on an adventure! He and his wife Sherry are spending the next 2 1/2 months in Alaska!

Once we landed at the park, the boys were ready for adventure. They kept the roads and trails hot with their wheels.

This little guy...WORE ME OUT on the bike. Talk about exercising my lungs--all I have to do is try to keep up with him. I am officially the slowest in the family now. I thought I would at least have another year or two.

We took lots of outdoor fun with us: corn hole, horseshoes, disc golf portable goal, frisbee, paddle ball, and softball equipment.

The park had activities for kids every two hours. The first one was a water sponge toss. Who knew you could keep kids entertained that long with a sponge and bucket of water. Johnny and I joined in as well. They also participated in a massive kickball game, water pinatas, scavenger hunts, and water ping-pong. 

I got one of the water balloon fight as well. The rangers even joined in with the kids.

The park also has a miniature golf course. Many rounds were played while we were there. One of the neat things about this trip: Our boys have very opposite personalities. For one, John Gannon is an extrovert. He loves large group play and can make a group of friends in a minute. Jackson likes more introverted play. He likes to find one friend and play with that one. It is harder for him to find friends because they are usually all up in the games his brother creates for the large groups. This trip, he was able to connect with this guy. They would meet in the morning and play all day. 

Padon the picture quality. My efforts in showing the guys how to work our camera, well they are just futile! On Friday nights, the park hosts a square dance at the barn. I LITERALLY had to beg one of them to get on the floor with me. This one agreed because his dad offered to pay him $1 if he went. I wonder why? Of course, it got the pressure off of him to join me.

After his round, the next child agreed after I guilt tripped him some more. Come to find out, they both loved it and were on the floor with me for the rest of the rounds. It was a good lesson in being able to overcome that awkward social anxiety and just jump in. The flipside--sit in the bleachers and complain about how boring it is! In this shot, I thought John Gannon was going to die! I saw this little girl didn't have a partner, so I just grabbed her as we were spinning around and told her to join us. Well, anytime John had to get near her, I thought he was going to faint!

And for the third guy, I could only talk him into a slow dance. We slowly two-stepped it all around the barn. Come to find out, square dancing is great exercise!

The best part of all this happened when we were walking out! ANY FORMER CHRUCH TEEN or OR CURRENT FRIEND THAT HAS TRIED HELPING ME LEARN TO DANCE--PAY ATTENTION!!! As I was walking out of the barn, this little lady stopped me and said, "I watched you in there. You can dance! LET ME write it again: YOU CAN DANCE!! She went on, "I watched you smile and laugh with those boys and it was just a gift. You keep dancing. " She went on for another minute or two really pouring some encouragement into my life. I am pretty sure she was an angel sent straight from heaven. For those of you who don't know, I HAVE NO RHYTHM. I lived many years of my life, avoiding trying to dance. I would always just stand there or make excuses. One day, I finally decided I wasn't doing it anymore. I was going to jump in and just laugh--because in all honesty--when I start moving there are lots of opportunities for laughter. My husband was a youth minister at a church for about 10 years and many of the girls tried helping me out, to no avail. The way I see it now: I only have so many moments on this planet, and I might as well take all of them I can and make them meaningful!

The park is near the Chattooga River (you know, the movie Deliverance...it was shot there. We didn't hear any banjo music. Well, at least not on the river). The group of friends we were with were making trips down Section II, III, IV of the river. Our whole crew did section II and Johnny did Section IV the next day. He took one for the team and missed out on Section III. The more experienced boaters took that trip while the others did Section II. Here we are ready to get moving!

 This was Jackson's maiden voyage in his first "real" kayak. He was strapped in with his skirt and ready to go. John went on his paddle board. Johnny and I paddled the ducky.

 And we are off!

 John's confidence increased on his board. He actually stood during many of the rapids! This is huge for our safety guy.

 This guy, we kept having to slow him down so he could have safety in front of and behind him. He completely resented this concept and would have preferred to lead the group!

And for those of you who chatter about the safety of our children..or for my best friend and her husband who questioned where we were in a picture I emailed her of Jackson...here are a few shots for you to show just how close in proximity we actually are! :) 

Here is the picture I emailed my friend! Jackson had a flawless run (meaning he didn't turn over any). If he fell over, he would have floated right to the person taking the picture!

Here are a few more shots from our trip down Section II of the Chattooga.

The next day, we all hugged and kissed the old man of the family as he faced the Class III & IV rapids on Section IV of the river.

 The boys and I explored trails and all the sites around the river.

Since he was old enough to hold onto things, John has always had a handful or bag full of things with him at all times. For our exploring adventure this day, he took a roll of aluminum foil he had purchased a few months ago??? Anyway, he took it so that he and Jackson could create boats and test them in the rapids. Turns out, we found a nasty hole. The water churned one of the boats and would not release it. If this had been life size, it would have killed the boater. We were able to talk about how to look at the water and better judge if it was water that was safe to explore or if it is water to stay away from because of hydraulics, etc. The boys would then test their ideas with their homemade boats.

That evening, we enjoyed a cookout with all of the friends that were on the trip. I didn't take too many pictures and didn't get shots of everyone. This is Ted. He is the boater Johnny connected with last year. They have since met several times and paddled together. Ted doesn't do the "boring stuff" and that is right up Johnny's alley! Ted shared with me some wisdom. He is 70 and still able to paddle large class rapids (it is very physically demanding). He said that to stay in good health as you age you MUST make a very intentional effort to exercise everyday. He said without it, you just decay and everything hurts!

I love that my boys get to connect with friends and adults from all over the U.S. These two guys, Pete and Allen, had a good time teasing Jackson. And that frozen yogurt they are enjoying was made from an antique, wooden hand-crank ice-cream machine.

 Allen challenged Jackson to a burpee competition. Allen stopped at 20.

On Monday, we decided to travel over to North Carolina. We stayed at Tsali Recreation area. There are lots of hiking/biking trails to explore. While dad went on an intensive trail ride on his bike, we explored on foot.

 Did I tell you John Gannon was a carrier of things? He set us up all kinds of adventures on the trail!

 And it wasn't long, until we were river bound. We were ready to take a ride down the freezing waters of the Nantahala River. The boys played in the cane as we waited for Johnny to get the truck down to where we would get out of the river and hitchhike back. Don't panic--that is common practice in the river running world.

This particular day it seemed to take Johnny a while to catch a ride back up. Jackson decided he should have went with him. He reasoned, "If I went I bet they would have picked him up quick when they saw he had a kid." I bet you can't guess what he did the next time he floated the river...stay tuned!

 Johnny eventually made it back to us and we were ready for the cold water!

 Love this picture! He was playing around, but it captures his personality perfectly!

 And this one--hand in the air in the whitewater--a picture of his personality as well.

 Johnny took his maiden voyage on the paddle board.

 Have I ever mentioned how absolutely beautiful the river is?

 And it is lots of fun as well!

We took a pit-stop while on the river.

 We played darts while waiting on our pizza to cook.

 Jackson enjoyed drawing on the wood.

 And of course, the good part.

After eating, we got back in the boats for the last few rapids. I never run the last rapid (the falls). The boys and Johnny usually ride down. This time, John asked Jackson if he wanted to go down with dad by himself. He said, "I got to go down with him alone a lot and you haven't." Jackson took him up on the offer. John took my normal spot--ready to throw the safety rope in case they flip. he was so excited. But, he didn't have to throw it because they came down perfectly!

 Much to our surprise, John Gannon wanted to take the paddle board on down to the take out. This water moves a little faster than the rivers he takes it down.

And then the hard part...getting John out of his wet suit! Johnny suggested this strategy which seemed to work pretty well! As a matter of fact, it was my first time running with a full body wet suit! John had been wearing it, but has outgrown it, so I got it. It kept me just right in those freezing waters! And can I whine a little...all of this outdoor equipment is so expensive. John Gannon has outgrown his pfd and his Chacos. Jackson has outgrown his Chacos and most of our dry tops have had it...Sigh! 

After we got into our dry clothes, we spent some time enjoying the atmosphere at the Nantahala Outdoor Center. The boys enjoyed playing with their Foamie Friends boats.

The next day, Jackson wanted me and him to stay and play with the boats while Johnny and John take a trip down the river again.

 I have no clue what he was explaining to this guy!

 We missed them coming down the falls but we caught a shot of them on the last rapid as you get out!

On our way back to camp, we stopped by to see if our friends, the Grammers, were at home. We had missed a visit from them. They actually live three miles from us in MS, but they both got summer jobs at NOC (he is guiding rafts and she works at the center booking adventures for people). So, they moved to NC for the summer! Brian and their daughter Madison were home. Tessa was at work. We enjoyed visiting with them for a few minutes.

On Wednesday, we moved on to one our family's favorite places in TN!

 The boys immediately asked if they could jump in and float down! We got the perfect camping spot--the place where the jumpers get out!

 John and his things...a roll of duct tape and his drawing journal. He is explaining his latest drawing to his dad.

And it didn't take us long to make our way to Smiley's...the boys favorite place to swim! They were debating who was going to be the first in!

 They had fun playing with lots of other children that day.

 Jackson took his boat down a few times. Several of the other children got to try it out as well!

And of course, the bikes...lots of mileage was added to the bikes this trip!

 And guess what, we found Sasquatch.

I noticed him in the gift shop we always stop at to have an ice-cream treat. I commented about how neat he was, and how it would be cool to have him as our family traveling mascot. As we were eating our ice cream outside, John Gannon went back into the store and purchased him for me. I thought it was such a gesture of kindness! So, from this point on, Harry will accompanying us on all of our adventures!

On Thursday, some of our MS friends joined us at our campsite. The following day, all of the guys, drove back over to the Nantahala and enjoyed a float down. Me, I got to lay in the hammock and listen to podcasts from a Homeschool conference I attended earlier in the year in Nashville. I also spent some time at a mountain top park, chatted with Roxe (our friend and camp ground host) and read. I thoroughly enjoyed my day. And from what I heard, the guys had a great day as well!

Oh, and remember that hitch-hiking idea I mentioned earlier? Yep, it didn't take them long to get a ride this time. Johnny said he had to train Jackson who to show his thumb to. He said once he started, he wanted to put it out to everyone-including truckers passing through!

Upon their return to TN, we spent some time at Smiley's and at Blue Hole (another fun swimming area).

And back at the campsite, more river swimming fun!

Oh, and how could I forget our hiking, climbing, and fun at Go-Forth Creek? Umm, I think Johnny had too much fun playing with the boat toys! This first picture was of Johnny's first spill...Navigating rocks and water can be tricky. 

 He made it to the other side!

 Dad gets all the boat playing action while the child watches.

And in the evenings, we were able to listen to live banjo music! Johnny took the ganjo (not a typo--it is a 6 string banjo) instead of the guitar this time. I am sure it had to do with the Chattooga river and all...

And the thing I have no pictures to prove, while in North Carolina, Jackson led John and I down the Right-Side Loop trail at Tsali. For all of you MS folks, it is a mountain bike trail...in the mountains! Honestly, I figured he would go a 1/4 mile or so and be ready to turn around. UM...NO...after several miles he started asking when we were gong to make it to the end. It was a great educational experience about checking the map/mileage of trails BEFORE you begin, having water with you when you bike long distances (we didn't), and several other safety things that we failed to do prior to the ride. Anyway, we made it out and had a really great time on the ride. It was a major accomplishment for me because I accompanied them alone on a high-risk adventure. It was Jackson's first ride on a real mountain bike trail. Again, it was pretty accidental, but it worked out! For the boys, it was a major accomplishment because of the work and perseverance it took to make it out! They didn't complain at all. At one time Jackson said, "My legs are wanting to give out, but I am not going to let them." 

On Thursday evening one of our dear friend's mom died. We decided Saturday evening that we wanted to show him we loved him enough to come back. We packed up and left camp about 8:30 p.m. that evening. We camped at a truck stop in Scottsboro, AL, and drove the rest of the way home Sunday morning. We attended her funeral yesterday afternoon.

We plan to stay home for the remainder of the week and head out again...where ever the road leads. We are entertaining the idea of going back out West again since we have come home. The past two years of adventures out there have been so much fun. We originally thought we may stay this summer out east. Who knows...but as long as we are alive, we will be hitting the road again, making more memories and having more adventures!

Live a Meaningful Life!

(May 25th-June 4th 2017)