Ocoee weekend.

Thursday morning myself Megan and George Alex loaded up and headed out to River Rats. I got them up early so I could set up camp and hit the river. I met Travis at camp and Megan dropped us off. Travis and I spent most of the playing down river. By the time we got to Hell hole I was worn out. Let me brag on Megan a little bit. Some people are called shuttle bunnies when they drop boaters off and help run shuttle but Megan is a river angel. All I had to do was call her from hell hole and she came and picked us up. She is GREAT!!!. For supper that night Travis brought up some fresh shrimp and We had a low country boil. It was very tasty. Charlie did most of the cooking. Our desert was a peach cobbler made by Robert(who is 14 and a good boater)with fresh peaches. It was the best.
Friday we did it again. This time it most of our paddling gang. We spent all day out there . I finally hit all the eddies in Broken Nose. I was stoked about that. The river was crowed with lots of raft traffic. Friday night others started to roll into camp. We had a fire and good conversation but I was wiped out so went to bed. The popup was nice and cool inside and I slept great. Saturday George, Jim, Robert G., Jay ,Crista and Ed went to the Nanty. Travis Josh and I went back to the Ocoee. Another great day. When we got to Goforth Creek Katie and megan were there with the kids. We played in creek a bit but the boys were hungry so Megan and Katie took them back to camp to eat and nap. While sitting there a snake swan from behind Josh so we hauled our butts out of there. We all were sort of worn out so we got to hell hole and called Megan to come get us. The plan for Sunday was to go to the Hiwassee. But Saturday Megan started to catch a cold and woke up Sunday full blown sick. So we loaded up and came home. Megan slept most the rest of the day. I hope she gets better soon.
It was another great trip to the river. The boys are headed back Thursday for one more weekend before I head back to work. It had been a fantastic summer.

"O.K. I'm sold."..

That's what Megan said after setting up the popup for the first time at River Rats. We talked about getting a pop up for a long time. All we wanted in one was a couple of beds and AC. After looking for about 5 months I finally found one. It is exactly what we wanted. Its a Coleman Taos 2001 model. It had a hand pump sick and stove but I took those out and we use that space as storage. We didn't want to get away from the outdoor part of camping but also wanted a break from the summer heat while we slept. Its just as easy to set it up as a tent. I'm sure we will use it alot. This weekend will its 4Th trip out this summer. I really enjoy it and I know Megan does.

Summer review...part 1

Well summer is starting to wind down. We have had a good one. In June we went to Perdido Key Florida with our Friends K.&G.. We stayed in a house on the water way. I haven't been to Florida in several years and was really looking forward to it. It was better than I expected. Our house was fantastic. It belongs to K.s mom and dad. It is very cool,from the deck you have the Gulf to your left and the waterway to your right. We would sit in the mornings and watch the big boats go by. Right down the street there is a local bar and seafood place. I love places like that. The food was great topped off by cold beer. One of the things I loved about Perdido is it is not a tourist place. The nearest Walmart is a 20 minute drive.
The highlight of this trip to me was the Naval Air museum. I will go back there when we return to Perdido. It was awesome. I will post pics as soon as I can. It really was cool. We missed the Blue Angles by one day. It was so cool seeing the planes from WWII that I have read so much about. If you are ever near Pecola' this is a must. Most days in Florida we just chilled. I did help K.s dad do some things around the house. We all spent a day working. We hung blinds. We didn't mind,we were still on vacation. After a week of seafood and great times Megan and I drove home. It was a really fun time.
Over the next few days and weeks I will try to post more of a summer review.

Crazy things in the mail..

Everyone gets junk mail,but today's visit to the mail box takes the cake. We got preapproved for 500 dollar credit on....SHOES!!!! We got this catalog that you can buy shoes on payment plans. That blows my mind. I could get a pair of Crocks for 3 payments or 13 bucks. I might send the magazine to Dave Ramsey. That is stupid to me.

Its almost summer.

We sure have been lazy with the blogging lately,haven't we? The last few weeks of work are always a real mess. Megan is swamped everyday. I am non stop. I think I eat lunch most days standing up or take bites when I can. But in a few short days it will be SUMMER,for me anyway. I got this week and 2 days next week. Megan has to go an extra week. This summer I will work at the school as the maintenance man. Its a perfect summer job for me. I make my own hours and work mostly 3 days a week. We also have a couple of trips planned. We are going to the beach with some friends in June. I am actually looking forward to it. Its been about 10 years since I have been to the beach. Some time in July we are going to Pennsylvania with Megans dad. That will also be a blast. Its his 40th high school gradation reunion. I am sure alot of time will be spent at Ocoee river rats as well.
The past couple of weekends I have gone to the Nantahala river. Last week Travis J. and Crista went. It was Crista's first time on a river. I must say she is going to be a great kayaker. I bet she will be on the Ocoee at the end of the season. I just got back from helping a freind of mine teach a class at the Nanty. We had a great time. the weather forcast called for 80% chance of rain and clouds all day. But they were totally wrong. We had clear skies and sun all day. the nantahala is such a fun river. I cant wait to get Crista back on. That will be this coming weeekend. I was going to paddle the Ocoee today but woke up to rain and a chill in the air. All i had to keep warm was my dry top so I came on home. Which is great because I took an hour and half nap. I guess I needed the sleep.
Now that things will slow down I will be able to post more often. Our vegetable garden is doing just fine. We might have tomatoes soon. The flowers we planted are somewhat of a disappointment. It could be all the rain. But I am not complaining about that. Makes for great kayaking.

Where have we been???

The past couple of weeks has been busy. I am not going to complain about work on here but it has been rough. It always is this time of year. I want summer vacation as much as the kid do. I think we have got 4 weeks left. After a hard day at work I love to come home and work in the yard. We have been working just about everyday. As wet as it has been I think I have been mowing twice a week. We got our garden in the ground last week. I went and got a couple of truck loads of dirt from Martins here in Murfreesboro. We have a raised bed. I was going to put landscaping times around it until I remembered that those are pressure treated,so we just raised it without those. Hopefully I killed all the weeds around it. Anyways,we planted peppers,squash,,and cucumbers. I also planted tomatoes in the corner of the flower bed by the deck and some more plants in a container that I placed on the deck. This is our second year at trying a garden. Last years turned out OK so we doubled the size this year.
This morning we got up and went back to Martins and got a bunch of flowers and filled my truck up with mulch. Its a tough job emptying the truck full of mulch. We put mulch in all our plant beds. Our hands turned black. It took lots of scrubbing to get them clean. Megan put flowers in 4 hanging baskets and all sorts of pretty things in the bed that borders the deck. I think my favorite will be the sunflowers. It should look great when everyting is in full growth. I will have Megan post pictures then. I dont know what we have planned for the rest of the weekend. Its a good thing we got all that done because we will be camping the first three weeks of May. Everyone go out and enjoy this wonderful weather.

Big Water Ocoee

Last weekend we stayed at River Rats with Krista and Jay. They took a class Saturday so A few of went to the Ocoee. We heard it was running big. When we got there you could tell something was up. We drove up the hole river and decieded to get on at goforth creek. I have always heard about the ocoee at lots of flo but had never seen it much less paddled it. Our group did great we even had two 14 year old boys with us who one day will be great paddlers. Far better than their dads.

Sunday we drove aropund M'boro the best we could to look at the damage. You see that stuff on TV and movies but that was my first time seeing something like that live. It was very humbling. My prayers go out to all who lost.

Dogwood winter

I love the south. It seems like like there is a crazy name for every event. Muleday was this past weekend in Columbia TN. We went from 70degrees Sunday to 40 yesterday with a freeze last night. The weather lady called it Dogwood winter. I don't care what it is I want the 70 degrees back. It could be dogwood winter because we bought a dogwood to plant. We got it Sunday and now sits in the garage waiting for it not to be freezing. Have a great day.

Saturdays in spring.

Saturday Jim,Don and I paddled the LRC.(little river canyon). Its right outside of Fort Payne AL. Its mostly interstate from here so the drive is not that bad. Jim and I paddled this back in December at a low level. Then it was 750cfs, yesterday it was 2000cfs. And it was a totally different river. Normally it is a class3 river with two class 4s and several 2s. At 2000cfs it was very pushy and very solid 3+s everywhere. Every rapid had holes that were keepers(ASK Jim about those). The first class 4 is called eddy hop. It was not that hard. It required a big ferry across the river. We all ran it with no problems. Next is bottle neck. Not all that tricky but very fast water that requires two must moves. At the level we had yesterday it looked mean. As soon as I stood on the scouting rock my "gut" told me to walk it. I always listen to my gut when on the river. So I walked. Jim ran it. He did great until the last and biggest drop where he got off line by about a foot and went for the ride. The good thing there is a great recovery pool to collect the boater and gear. We found a sunny beach to eat a snack and hear about Dons trip on the Grand Canyon. A couple more hours of hole dodging we made it to the truck. We didn't take pictures today but Don did get video of Jim at bottle neck. When I get it I will post it.
I got home about 5:30. Megan and I grilled hamburger steaks. It was a great evening to top off a great day.

Life is better when camping! (Part 2)

We left for the 2nd part of our spring break Thursday morning. We went back to River Rats at the Ocoee. Only this time we didn't have to set our tents up under the Pavillion! Travis and Jason tried to run the river that day but it was low. They only made it to Double Suck before they got out.

Friday Jason and I took Tully on a trail in the woods at the whitewater center. Everyone else showed up throughout the day and night. Friday night was super cold. We woke up Saturday morning to a heavy frost. But as soon as the sun came out it was a nice day. Saturday was the first release of the Ocoee. The girls, the kids, and I went the put in to see everyone off.

Future Kayakers!

Then we hung out at the whitewater center for awhile. The boys had fun throwing rocks. After that we went back to camp for lunch and to let the boys nap.

Saturday night we lad a low country boil. It was wonderful. It had shrimp, corn, potatoes, onions, and hard boiled eggs. Charlie even made a peach cobbler for dessert.

Our spring break came to an end Sunday. It was so much fun. Good eats! Good company! And I am still the Yatzee champion!...

Here a few other great pictures from our tip.

Life is better when camping!

Jason and I had a great Spring Break. We spent just about the entire week camping. We started at River Rats at the Ocoee Friday night. There was a threat of heavy rain throughout the weekend so we set up camp under the pavilion.

Our New Tent! It has 2 Doors!

Lori, Anthony, and Cutler's tent with a hinge door!

Travis' Hammock

For the most part, the weather wasn't too bad. We had some rain on Saturday and a down-pour on Monday. We were able to have a fire every night though. It was cold at night, but warmed up most days.

Travis and Jason went to run the ledges of the Tellico on Saturday. Sunday was a beautiful day. We all went to the Tellico. Jason and Travis ran the ledges again. This was the day Travis swam after Baby Falls.

Jason going over Baby Falls

Travis going over Baby Falls

Sunday night we had fried bass, french fries, and hush puppies. It is o good! Lori now knows that this is a staple when she comes camping with us.

Monday we said good-bye to Lori, ANthony, and Cutler. We packed up camp and headed over to camp at the Tellico.

View from our campsite.

View of Bald River Falls

Tuesday Josh met up with Jason and Travis for his first Tellico run. The three of them ran the ledges of the Tellioco.

Josh's 1st Run down Baby Falls

Jason going down Baby Falls again!

Wednesday we packed up and headed home to feed the cats, do laundry, and re-pack for the second part of our spring break!

Sorry it took so long..

.for an update. Well, we got back from our spring break adventure Sunday afternoon. We had alot to do but just decided to wash some work clothes and that's all. I have got the best wife in the world. She is truly a treasure. She and I slept in our tent all but one night of spring break. I am so lucky that Megan likes to camp. I love her so much. So we spent the week doing laundry and cleaning camping gear.
I want to give props to my paddling budddy Travis C. without him along I would not have got to paddle as much as we did. He is an awesome paddler and great friend. Hopefully sometime this weekend Megan can post a full trip report with pictures. I will let her do that,shes much better at it than I am. She took some great pictures of me going over the falls.

Later...for now

Spring Break is almost here..

Today after work we begin packing up for our spring break camping trip. We plan on being gone most of the week. We will spend Friday -Monday at River Rats at the Ocoee. The ocoee is not turned on yet so Travis and I will paddle the Tellico this weekend and camp with Lori and Anthony. After Monday its up in the air. We will be back at River Rats Thursday for Tellico and then Ocoee. Our group will be huge for the ocoee release. All my TSRA friends will be there. I am really looking forward to great friends and and warm campfires. Stay tuned for trip reports.

The Big South Fork...

is a beautiful place. A few of my buddies and I paddled there yesterday. We did whats called the canyon. It has several class 3 rapids in a two mile section of river. The shuttle is only two miles as well. That makes it possible to do several laps in a day. Yesterday we did two laps. The weather was fantastic. There is nothing like paddling inTennessee inMarch. Here are a few pics from our day.

Friday..Friday...

Friday. And can you believe it ?!?! Its gonna be nice tomorrow. I will be taking my new Hero to the river. Its either going to be LRC in Alabama or the Big South Fork. I cant wait. Check back for details

Well, Mother Nature blessed us with one last day of snow. We actually had 3-4 inches of snow, which is more that any of the other times this year. Unfortunately, the sun came out and melted most of it away. I guess that is how it goes in March in TN. Here is a look at what it looked like this morning.

Jason and I took Tully for a walk this morning on the trails in the woods by our house. Tully loved it! He ran far ahead of us and then would run back to make sure we were following him. Then he would take off again. Take a look at some of our pics from the woods.

I always look forward to winter and snow. I am like a kid in the candy store when it snows, but I am ready for Spring. I am ready for the grass to grow and the flowers to bloom. I am ready to see all the baby birds in the backyard. I am ready to start grilling out again. Hopefully, this was the last of snow for awhile.

~ Megan

Nasty day...

outside today. It has been cold and misty all day. The good news is I am back to normal. I finally got to do some things around the house today. I mounted a hanging basket in the pantry to put stuff on. It makes alot more room in there.

I also played with my new new toy. Thursday I went to Rock Island (home of Jackson Kayak) to pick a new kayak. Its a used boat. I got it from a guy who paddles on the Jackson team. I went to this guys house and there were about 4 or 5 professional kayakers there. It was like walking into my favorite sports team locker room. So today I outfitted it and sort of cleaned it up. I had to make it mine. My buddies and I planned to go to the Tellico today but decided not to because of the weather. Tomorrow I am going to the pool to give it a test run. Hopefully next weekend we can find some water somewhere.

The forecast calls for snow tonight...I don't believe it.

Flu like and lazy...

Well some how I got the flu. Not real bad but I had body aches and very bad headache. Every time I coughed my body hurt. I feel so much better this morning. Best of all Megan and I just hung out on the couch yesterday. She went to Publix in the morning. After that we just hung out and watched TV. It was a real nice day but I had no energy. My kayaking buddies went with out me. That stinks because I want to go next weekend and they may not want to go. Anyways,I am so glad that Megan is back. The house is much more comfortable with her in it. Today is another day of R&R. Of course we will go to Sams for provisions. Then back to the house to do nothing.

Its finally here..

Friday that is. And today has an added bonus...Megan is coming home. I'm pretty excited about that. Its not like I was having a had time here alone. I just miss her. I was great for a day or two but yesterday and this morning I miss her alot. Anyways, we don't have much planned for the weekend. The place we work at has been hit with the flu. We had two teachers out all week and one of those even went to the hospital. There is also a bad cough going around and I caught it. Its going to be cold all weekend I see myself napping during the race and doing alot of reading. Well Happy Friday to All!!!!!!!

Update..

Well I have today off . I have been a lazy bum. Megan had to go to Alabama to help her mom. So I am all alone with the cats and dog. Megan left yesterday then I went to the pool and had some roll practice. I like going to to the pool but it hurts my eyes. Jim and I were doing rolls as fast as we could and the water gets in my eyes. Clay P. came over later and we watched the race. Clay has been my friend from high school. We had a few and ate some chicken sausage things. Saturday Megan and I spent the day together. We didn't do anything special. We cooked some meat on the grill and played the wii.
Its been a real long time since I have had a few days to myself. I'm sort of bored today. I go away on the weekends a lot but this is the first time I have been in the house alone. Now I know how Megan feels when I go kayaking all weekend. Hopefully I will be doing that soon. We need alot of rain. It seems like we are back in the drought again. Maybe we will have a wet spring.
Megan will be gone a few days. We went to the grocery and got me bachelor food. Stuff I can cook for just me. Most of you know I love to cook anyway. Tonight its going to be mac and cheese with polish sausage.

FRIDAY!!!!!

thata about all I can say this morning. I am ready for the weekend. And its a three day weekend.

no updates in a few days..

It sort of has been a crazy week. Nothing big just busy. tonight I have that damn cold again. Both Megan and I do. I just took it easy after work. Check back this weekend for more.

It may not be spring..

..but it has felt like it the past few days. Today after work, I did some things outside and then cooked one of my favorite meals. Its hamburger steaks and baked potatoes. It one of our grilling staples. I hope this weather continues with lots of rain. I need to go kayaking soon. Have a good night everyone.

Two days in a row...

that we got to grill. Saturday night George And Katie came over. We cooked brats and sat by the fire. George Alex,their son played on the deck. It was such a good time. I stayed up late watching Northern Exposure. Old TV shows on DVD are really cool. Hoping to get Cheers or Magnum P.I. next. Last night Megan and I cooked cube Steak on the grill. Its cube steak rolled up with stuff inside. Very Good!!! Looks like a nice week this week. Dont know our plans for Valentines day. All I know is we have a three day weekend comin up.

Overstock

I have always been a pantry shopper. However, my friend Lori has taken pantry shopping to a different level. She showed me a couple of great websites to print coupons using sales ads at the grocery store. She has saved so much money on her grocery runs by doing this. I figured that it could never hurt to try if it saves money. Well, I have been doing this for about a month now and my pantry is overflowing. To help me out I asked Jason to build a shelf for me. It turned out great. Here's a picture of my new shelves and all the food that doesn't fit in the pantry.

Saturdays....

Its suppose to be a warm weekend here in Murfreesboro. Yesterday was really nice. After work Megan and I hung out on the deck until it was time to go to dinner. We ate with friends at a place called Razzs. The food is great and the service is wonderful as well. But this is one of those places that's adds the tip to tables of 6 or more. It really frustrates me. Don't get me wrong I tip and big sometimes. This place is never crowded and we had the back room to ourselves. It wasn't like we ordered a bunch of drinks or stuff. We just had dinner. Oh well...done venting.
Today I am going to add a shelf in the pantry for Megan and then do something outside. Tonight we will build a fire in the pit and watch the stars. Its sort of sad the there is no more football. The pro bowl doesn't count.

Work

Have you ever had one of those days where you just didn't want to go to work. I am having that this morning! I guess Id better go get ready.

Winter....

...stinks at times. The weather in Tennessee is crazy. This past weekend the temps got to around 60. I love those days, but they are always followed by really cold temps. Like today Its cold and windy.This time of year I always get a little cranky. I try to keep busy after work. Today I did the Wii Fit. Its fun, I was totally surprised how much of a work out you get with it. I try to do it a few times a week. The weather people say its going to be sort of warm this weekend so hopefully Megan and I can cook on the grill. Our friends in Alabama,Lori and Anthony, showed us how to cook these cube steak things on the grill. I might try that.

Its been a good weekend.....so far.

Yesterday a group of friends and myself went kayaking. It was super cold in the morning and I was second guessing myself. We met at the Cracker barrel in Cookeville and by the time we ate it was starting to warm up. We headed to Clear creek. We did the canyon to Nemo bridge. I was pumped up by the time we put on the water. The first mile and half in the canyon there are some technical class 3+ with maybe a 4 mixed in. I wanted to post some pics but I didnt charge the camera(found that out at the put in). I missed the line in the first rapid and just about went into the hole(where you dont want to go). So after that scary moment I stepped up my game and the rest of the day did just fine.
We got to the truck around 2 or so and headed back to the boro. Megan and I went to dinner and came home and watched some TV before falling asleep. Today we have been getting ready for the Super Bowl. I am lucky to have married a football fan. Megan has been a Steelers fan all her life. she converted me a few years ago(i was a Chiefs fan). Some friends are coming over to watch with us. Hopefully the Steelers will be the victors! Its 66 degrees so im going outside to enjoy it.

Thank God for Mexican Restaurants!

As the end of school day approached, I heard a co-worker say this. I laughed hysterically! Jason and I have a Friday night dinner ritual. We go to a small Mexican place in town most Friday nights. Jason says it has the best draft beer. He usually gets a tall one. He always gets a steak burrito. I usually get that or steak fajitas. We went with our friend Katie and her son, GeorgeAlex (our Godson) tonight. Its always good food and good company when we go there. Its also a good way to decompress from a long work week and welcome the weekend. So, thank God for Mexican restaurants.

Snow Day

Well, Jason and I had a snow Day! It actually turned into a rain day, but oh well. It was a relaxing day off of work. We played some of our favorite games on the Wii- lawn darts, skill ball, bean bag toss, bowling, and target shoots. The weather man is calling for bad ice in the morning, but I think we will be back at work tomorrow.

What a day.

Both megan and I work for the same school. Just like everybodys job we have bad days too. Today was one of those days. One of good things about our jod is that we some times get SNOWDAY!!!. The weather man says its gonna snow in the morning. That means either we stay home and veg out or we go to work and try to make the best of it. I for one hope we stay home. After today I think we deserve it.

Is this easy of what?

Just did this this mornig before work.