Camping and Floating

Camping and floating on the Current

We took the girlies on their very first float trip. We headed out late on Thursday and landed a campsite right on the Current River. It was secluded and pretty.

Friday morning, the canoe rental man came to our campsite and we launched right there. Audrey was the captain (of course!). What was a little bit of a surprise was the fearful meltdown Ava displayed. I had to grab her and wrestle her into the boat. We had decided to rent a large raft instead of a canoe for safety reasons. Ava was scared to death to get out on the river because she was afraid of the sharks. She sat on the bottom of the raft whimpering, refusing to move an inch. It was so pathetic.

Our girl eventually got braver. She was also afraid of the "waterfalls". She could hear the upcoming areas where the water was shallow and rushed over the rocks creating an eerie sound. Eventually, she became the boat's first mate and she and Audrey were in charge!

We had the river to ourselves. We didn't see another person until the very end of the float. We floated past Sherman and Michelle's cabin. They were outside drinking coffee and we chatted while the river carried us away.

We saw lots of turtles along the way. We stopped in a quiet little area to rock hunt and swim. That is where the girls and I saw our very first leech. (Eric is unfortunately a little too familiar with the little bloodsuckers.) You know what? It was very pretty! What a funny thing to say, but it is true! It was long and a lovely shade of green with spots. It would scrunch up as it swam. Ava wasn't interested, and jumped right into the boat.

The float went from Two Rivers to Powder Mill. It was the same float Eric and I did the month before. There is a large number of spoonbills near the bridge. They are big and pretty. Floating in a raft was a bit of a pain as we had to row quite vigorously through dead water. My weakling arms were not happy.

Later in the day, we went to the cabin. Eric helped Sherman put a railing on the side of the stairs leading to the basement. The girls and I hung out and relaxed with Chelle. We brought her a mouse shaped cutting board as a gift. The woman is terrified of mice-but she liked her present.

Saturday we had breakfast in Eminence at Breylers (or something like that). We went to the new conservation site in Winona. It just opened this year. It is called Twin Pines. It is a wonderful place to visit. The woman there was so friendly and informative. We had a lot of fun exploring inside the center. We walked the trail outside too. When we returned, we borrowed fishing poles and fished in the lake on the property. They even supplied the bait! The fishing wasn't very good, but the girls had a lot of fun trying. Eric got out his fly rod and got three hits, bringing one in.

Later in the day we went back to the cabin and Heather and her kids were there. Her oldest daughter and my oldest daughter have the same first name are the same age-four days apart. The kids all played and had a good time. That evening we went to a fish fry at Scottie and Susan's new cabin. I think we're related to them, but I'm not sure how. The cabin and land were beautiful. The fish fry was yummy. Again, the kids played and played. Craig got out his guitar and the little ones sang. Audrey spent the night at the cabin and she and the other Audrey slept in the round bed.

Sunday we broke camp down and went to the cabin for breakfast. We then headed to Horner Church. I love Horner Church! Craig is the pastor. The only bad thing about church is that there isn't a kid's church and my little ones have a hard time sitting still. I feel so bad-it seems like the other kids can sit still, but mine can't. I ended up outside with Chelle's grandkids, my girls, and Craig and Millie's grandgirl. We played on the playground and then took a walk down to the creek. It was the perfect Sunday morning in the country.

Chelle showed us a couple pieces of land while we were down. We really liked an area called Delaware. I want to move to the country so badly! It is hard when your spouse and you want two very different things in life. I'm just hoping to start with a piece of land. He at least has agreed to that...but we'll see what happens.