Up The Creek With A Paddle

I recently had my first experience with paddling a canoe. This was while we were up in Dahlonega a couple of weekends ago. My husband Scott, our friend Shelly and myself had already rode our bikes 37 miles in the mountains. After lunch the three of us met Shelly's friend Nanette at the Appalachian Outfitters. We rented two, two person canoes. The rental fee included the use a smelly life jacket. The life jackets were almost unnecessary. The water was really low in spots. Before you set out the "guide" gives a talk about some important information. There were points on the river that I wished that we had listened a little closer to what he was saying.


Since I didn't have a clue to what I was doing I sat in the front of the canoe with my husband in the back. Scott grew up near a creek and they had a canoe. I can only imagine what he and 2 of his brothers got up to. So he knows how to paddle and keep us going in the right direction. Not that this kept us out of trouble the whole time. At one point we were trying to decide if the guide told us to stay to the left or the right of a certain area. As we are discussing this Scott and I end up in a downed tree! I really try not to cuss, but the only thing I could say at the point of contact with that tree was, "SHIT!!" We managed to get out of that predicament with little trouble. The water on the Chestatee River was mostly calm. There were some level 1 and 2 rapids. As I said earlier the water was low in spots. This of course caused some comical situations for us and Shelly and Nanette. At a couple of points we were stuck on the rocks. Instead of getting out of the canoe we would stay seated and "scooch" trying to push forward. This worked a couple of times. There was one time I did have to get out of the canoe and help get it unstuck. I managed to do that part semi gracefully, but had to ruin my gracefulness by missing my seat as I sat back down. This gave everyone, including me, a good laugh.

I was having a really good time. I had finally calmed down. At one point in a calm area I decided I needed a break from paddling. So I'm enjoying the water and looking around for wild life. As I'm sitting there doing nothing I proclaimed, "I love canoeing!" This cracked Shelly up because who wouldn't love to canoe if you weren't doing any work?

I'm ready to go out on the water again. Maybe next time we can take the longer tour on the Etowah River. I hear there are level 3 and 4 rapids there. That smelly life jacket will come in handy then I'm sure.

It's A Weighty Issue

I made it to Lifetime with Weight Watchers in March of 2002. Over the last six years my weight has gone up and down. Not huge gains, but this time I've got right at 10 pounds that has to go.
I've been totally out of control as far as eating is concerned. Chicken fingers and fries. Frozen yogurt. Frozen yogurt? Frozen yogurt is not bad. Oh, but it is if you eat too much of it. Of course it is not just those two foods. It is portion control. It is buying a few munchkins at the Dunkin Donuts when I pick up my ground coffee. I could go on and on, but I'm just depressing myself thinking about how bad it has gotten.
So the game plan is this...back to Weight Watchers. I will go to weigh in tomorrow morning. Knowing what works and actually implementing are two different things. The thing that works best for me is journaling. Writing down everything I eat. It is what worked six years ago. It can't be that different, right? My husband does remind me that I am six years older. Of course I know it gets more difficult to lose as you age, but 45 is not old in my book. The weight does seem to like my mid section tho.
I've reached the point that I don't feel comfortable in my own skin. It is time to get back to feeling good about me.

Manchester England England

across the Atlantic sea...across the pond. I'm really not too sure how far our home is from Newcastle Upon Tyne, but our youngest is heading that way soon. She has been accepted to study abroad in England. This child has had a varied college life. One year at Auburn. One totally wasted semester at Georgia College and State University. Let's just say that her living conditions were not what she was use to there. We brought her home at Christmas break. After a semester off she finally got it together and enrolled for classes again. This time locally and living at home. It was a slow start but she has managed to bring her GPA up to qualify for HOPE. Lo and behold she has also made the deans list!

So me, being the mom I am, I am torn. Part of me is worrying about the whole experience for her. So far from home. No family. One good thing, they do speak English there. The other part of me wants to throw a party! I look forward to having an empty nest. My husband claims that he will no longer wear clothes when he is home. This of course brings shrieks of ewwwww from the daughter that is leaving. I'm not of the mind that clothing optional will be for me. I kind of like clothing. I actually think I look better clothed than naked, but that's a whole other story.

Anywho, I digress. This is about a child who has never really been too self sufficient going hundreds of miles away from home. We've explained that we cannot just get in the car and visit or go get her like when she was in Auburn or Macon. I think she does understand that there is the issue of a large body of water involved. I'm sure that I am worrying needlessly. That is what I will continue to tell myself.

My First 3 Gap Bike Ride

My first trip to the North Georgia mountains this past weekend turned out to be one of the best short trips I've taken in a long time. My husband and I were invited by our friends Matt and Shelly to go up. Matt is a member of the local bike racing club. There was a group of 8 us. We stayed at the Hiker Hostel in Dahlonega. The plan for Saturday was to bike early and go out on the water in the afternoon. The ride we had planned for the day was the 3 Gap ride. This ride includes Neels Gap (Blood Mountain), Wolfpen Gap and Woodys Gap. I was filled with trepidation as this was my first ride on the mountain. I had been looking at the profile of the elevations for the ride. Neels Gap is a 7 mile climb. It was my friend Shellys first ride in the mountains too. My husband, Scott had done the ride last year. He knew what was in store for us. The going was not fast, but I stayed steady with it. I was riding my Cannondale with the triple chain ring. Climbing up Neels Gap was challenging. At the top of the climb there is a store that acts as a rest stop. You can buy drinks and snacks. There is also a bathroom. Hooray! My one track mind had decided about half way up the climb that I needed a REAL Coke when we got to the top. Sugar and caffeine, YES! Scott and I shared the Coke. We topped off our water bottles and got back on the bikes. One climb down, two to go.
Wolfpen is about a 3 1/2 mile climb. It is MUCH steeper than Neels. The climbing again was slow and steady. There was a point I was thinking, "oh my goodness, what in the world are you doing?" There is no stopping to rest or to think you can walk some of it. If you get off of your bike, you are pretty much done! So, I kept pushing the pedals, round and round. Another of my thoughts on this part of the ride was, when you get tired while running you can stop running and walk. Not so with a mountain climb on a road bike. Suddenly, Dori from Finding Nemo is in my head. Not telling me to keep swimming, but to keep pedaling, just keep pedaling. We made it to the top of this climb and began the descent. Oh yeah, the descent was AWESOME!! No pedaling required. At the bottom we stopped at the gas station that everyone seems to use as their rest stops. It was great to come off of the saddle and stand up for a bit. We topped off our water bottles again and headed out for the final leg of our ride.
Woody Gap was almost easy when comparing the other two climbs. At this point all I really wanted was to be finished. I had managed not to whine or complain the whole trip. My husband, knowing me as he does, congratulated me for staying strong with no whining. When we got back to the hostel there was a final climb. The drive way entrance for the hostel is almost straight up! I managed to pedal part way up, but nearly fell over. I was able to come off of my pedals thank goodness! Shelly and I gave each other high fives and congratulated each other for being such kick butt, biker chicks!!