White Water Rafting - The Ocoee River (Copperhill, TN)

We found yet another reason to go enjoy the outdoors near our new residence and that is rafting down the Ocoee River right about where North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee meet.

The upper part of this river was used in the 1996 Atlanta Olypmics but the middle part continues to be the most popular.  Our guide "Stan the Man" from White Water Express led our team of six down the middle Ocoee and really gave us a chance to make the rapids a little more challenging when we wanted and to pull up on top of some hydraulics as well.

A new move that I have not seen on my trips to other rivers was "riding the bull".  This is when someone sat on the front of the raft with their feet out the front and held onto a small cord as we dropped into a rapid.  We have a well documented case where Jolene's attempt at this results in just about all of us submerged (no finger pointing), floating down the river.  It's important to note that the lesson to make sure your feet are up so you don't get a foot caught in a rock really stuck with me since it appears I planned on keeping them out of the water for as long as possible.

We had a great group in our raft and whether Stan has 23 years or was it just one online class of experience he kept us out of trouble and having a great time.

While we were not rafting we were hanging out at the White Water Express compound where we spent a couple nights in one of their cabins.  We went horseback riding and even enjoyed doing flips off the "blob" in their small lake with a couple we met while rafting.

Our Cabin

A quick shout out to Scout and Jeremiah (horses) who took the time (whether they wanted to or not) to carry us around a muddy trail in the woods that one afternoon.

Lake + Blob

Mike Flip off Blob

It was definitely a fun trip and all the people we met made it very enjoyable.

We like to move it move it!

We have finally emptied our storage unit in Pittsburgh and transported our worldly possessions to Nashville.  The stuff had been sitting in there for four years!  Basically a time capsule from the day we moved to Richmond (lots of memories).

With flashbacks of when we put Jolene behind the driver's seat of the manual car in Northern Spain, we set her up as the pilot of a sixteen foot Budget truck.  Like a jumbo jet she got us up to cruising speed and glided West through Ohio and then straight South through Kentucky into Tennessee.  This trip however was done with zero tears but I once again played the role of navigator and moral support.

The following day she moved anything she could carry up to the apartment and then a couple friends from work were nice enough to stop by and help me with the heavy stuff that evening.

Now is the task of splitting our belongings into Keep, Donate, and Trash piles. To me it looks like there are going to be some very happy people that get stuff we don't have space for.  We have already found someone who will sell us a couch they have and I am sure the old school Sylvania TV will be replaced in the near future with something that can handle high definition (it makes buzzing sounds!).

All I know for sure is if you need someone to get you from point A to point B, Jolene is the one for the job (no joke).  Mode of transportation won't stop her.

The DiLo's do Nashville and Memphis

As part of a long road trip from Pittsburgh to the South Mr. and Mrs. DiLo visited us in Nashville.  We hit all our normal haunts like Edley's BBQ, Pancake Pantry, and Layla's.  We also tricked them into making a couple great meals for us while they were in town and took advantage by grilling out at the pool.

While they did take advantage of close by Nashville they also headed out with Jolene to Memphis for a day to visit Graceland.  All I can tell for certain is they had a really good time and absorbed a lot of fascinating Elvis trivia.














Feel free to stop by on your next trip South and...  "Thank you.  Thank you very much." - Elvis Presley