a kayak, a grill, and a "thank you" bean

Last Saturday Chip and I went kayaking in the Shoal River up in Crestview with our friends Greg, Lauren, and Gene. It had been almost a year since I had gone kayaking. Last year Chip and I tried kayaking in the Boggy Bayou (SO not even kidding about the name. Need I remind this is Niceville?) but there were too many boats wizzing around which made the water choppy. Prior to that I had been taking a little sabbatical from kayaking after a wildlife-filled trip down Turkey Creek in Niceville with our other friend's Nathan and Leigh Ann. We had several run ins with spiders, a snake, and I had a 5 foot gator about a foot away from my kayak! So I wasn't looking for another experience like that! Lauren and Greg had gone down the Shoal River before and told me I would be fine and have fun. So I decided to give it another go.

We got in the river around 9 am and started off just fine. It was a nice day, slightly overcast and a little humid. The river was a decent width so we weren't constantly ducking trees. Shortly into our almost 4-hour trip it started to sprinkle. No big deal. Then it started to rain pretty steadily for what seemed to be 30 minutes. We all got soaked to the bone! Then the sun came back out and helped dry us off a little. Luckily the rain helped to cool the temperature down a little, so it actually made it nicer.

A little while later, I didn't wear a watch so I had no concept of time, it started to get dark again and then the thunder started. So we all started paddling faster so we could get to the end before the lightning started. My shoulders got quite the work out! We finally got to the end and the sky opened up, so we got a nice soaking again. Oh well, at least we didn't get struck by lightning. My poor weenie shoulder muscles were SO tired from paddling I could barely lift my arms to have Chip help me out of the kayak. As soon as I got back to Lauren's house I took some ibuprofen...I know, I'm weak!

All in all it was a fun trip, one that I'd do again. Though, Chip apparently saw an 8 foot alligator. Luckily I didn't find out until we were way past it. Other than that we only saw a few turtles. Now that's my kind of kayaking.

After kayaking we went back to Greg & Lauren's house to grill out. Michelle, Gene's wife, was their watching the babies so we could go kayaking. At least she got to stay dry :) The guys grilled the meat while I made some less-than-stellar mac & cheese. I have got to find a better recipe! If you've got one, send it my way please!

On a random note, Chip and I received a gift two weeks ago from our neighbors, Mike & Stephanie. It was a "thank you" bean. Basically it is a tin can with some sort of metallic soil-type stuff and a bean inside. You water the dirt and a bean grows up and out of the dirt and the word "thank you" will be written on it. The bean then turns into a plant and you can replant it and enjoy it. Mike & Steph were intrigued by it and decided it was a fun way to say thanks to us for taking care of their plants while they went on vacation.


So we've been faithfully watering the dirt and little by little and stalk and a pod appeared. Then yesterday afternoon the pod fell off revealing the bean. Sure enough, it did say thank you! It grew pretty quickly, almost so fast I swear you could stand next to it and hear it grow! In a few days I will probably transplant it and try to keep it alive. We'll see...I don't exactly have the best track record with plants. I have been managing to keep an aloe plant alive and kicking! :)