Tuesday, August 03, 2010

In a Few Days...

...I'll be on the road, heading down to East Tennessee for an unforgettable weekend.  My dear friend William is getting married in November and I am honored to be his best man.  As such, it falls on my shoulders to plan a bachelor party, which I have been doing for several months now.  The plans come to fruition this weekend.

A group of eight, friends from college and William's three brothers, are going white water rafting and camping.  I've never been rafting before, and the Ocoee River is supposed to be awesome.  In fact, the 1996 Summer Olympics held the rafting events at the Ocoee.  A few friends have been to the Ocoee and have told me how much fun it is, and others that have been rafting all assure me I'll have a blast.  And I know I will.

So I'm packing up my beat-up-but-beloved 1995 Honda Del Sol, taking the top off, loading some music, and hitting the road Friday afternoon.  My friend Adam is riding down with me.  The destination is about six hours away, but we're spending Friday night at William's house in Chattanooga, which is only an hour and a half from the river.  We'll get up early and hit the water for a few hours, then after we're all exhausted we'll head over into North Carolina and set up camp.

I grew up camping, and it's been a long time since I've gone.  There's just something about being out at night with a clear sky and billions of twinkling stars above.  When the air has cooled from the day and the darkness of night is all around.  Where the toads burp and the crickets chirp.  Where the glowing of the campfire is the only source of light other than the moon.  Ah how I've missed it.

And on Sunday, after cooking breakfast over the fire, Adam and I will hop back in the Del Sol and head home, back to my waiting wife and pups.  Truly, I'm very excited about the weekend.  Rafting will be enjoyable, and camping will be a sweet return to a long-lost love.  It will be good to hang out with old friends and remember times forgotten.  While I'm in no real need for a break, I'll gladly take one.

4 comments:

Jay Belt said...

When someone says Rafting and Tennessee in the same post, I'm reminded of the lessons to be learned from Deliverance.

Good luck and have fun. But above all, wear a pair of steel underwear.

logankstewart said...

Aye, I hear that. Mayhap I'll bring my banjo just in case...

MT said...

sounds excellent! enjoy the good times! watch the rapids. keep your feet up when you fall out.

logankstewart said...

Thanks, Mattson, I certainly will.