GRADUATION!! (Grad School)

Sunday, July 30

Rafting again....

It is twenty after ten pm and we are just leaving Lexington, Virginia. I have a little time as I sit in the backseat, all by myself. So why not write how the trip went.

Friday was a difficult work day. Concentration was not a possibility. I just wanted to be on the river. Erin picked me up at 5 pm on the dot. We threw my gear in the back and were off to get Joy. We took a short detour to drive by the house we will be moving into at the end of Aug. (Yes you read that right. I am moving again. It was inevitable. But that is a topic for a whole blog of its own. I have a theory there.) Once Joy was in the car we were on our way to the Wild West Virginia. It is a 6 hour drive and we talked most of the way. Kenny Chesney was playing Nissan Pavilion which caused a horrible traffic jam. All the fans apparently have to take one road to get to the Nissan Pavilion. SO they filled our road. It took an extra hour to get past them. Once past we were flying. It was really nice to be on the open road. Unfortunately both Joy and I had a problem as the roads got more and more curvy. We survived. It was after midnight when we arrived and we crashed.

This morning our Rafting trip started at 9 am. I was mistaken; we rafted the Lower New River, not the Gauley. My mistake; it was still way fun. It was on the river. There were some great rapids. The water was warm. The day was nice, there was a touch of rain but that just added to the experience. Yes, I ended up in the water, but never involuntarily. I swam 2 rapids, they were little baby ones, but the current was strong and so much fun. I did the rock jump (I never miss a chance). I finally felt that I am starting to know what I am doing. I think I finally am getting the basics. There were pictures but none that I felt were worth $20 and the DVD was definitely not worth 50 bucks. So posterity will just have to believe me when I say I rafted it twice this summer. I am starting to realize these things are fun. Who knew? Who knew that these are somethings that I can do? But I can. Maybe not well, but I just need practice and a little more training. Today for the first time I got back in the boat with out help. 4 separate times. (There was a 5th time but I needed help for that one. Lol!)

Erin mentioned that we were going to pass Buena Vista, Virginia on our way home. I called Tiana and asked if she wanted to go to dinner. It was very last minute but we met at the main campus of Southern Virginia University. It is as beautiful as everyone says. The rest of the town is pretty ghetto but the school building is beautiful. We then went to Don Tequila for dinner. It was a Mexican joint, in an old Pizza Hut Building. Funny? Yes. Good food? Yes. It was nice to see Tiana. We decided that this covers our visit for Aug. (yeah, yeah we know. It is still July. But it is close enough.) I got to meet Tiana’s co-worker, Margaret. It was fun. We now plan for her to come to visit me in the district for September. Then I am planning a trip back down here in October. Now all we have to decide is where we will go in November. That is Thanksgiving after all.

Joy needed to hit a Wal-Mart to get a few things for her coming trip to Mexico. Of course you can’t go into Wal-Mart and come out empty handed. So I got 2 pair of earrings and 3 new shirts. J

I am excited for Oct. We are coming back for Bridge Day. The New River Gorge Bridge is the second longest steel arch bridge in the world. (This year China had to go and finish theirs that is about a hundred feet longer) I was also told that this is the second highest bridge in the United States, I haven’t verified it, but it is 876 feet high. Once a year people are allowed to base jump off of it. You have to be certified, and have 50 previous jumps under your belt before you are allowed to try this one. But people can go watch. It is the only day that pedestrians are allowed on the bridge. Joy and I want to come down and watch and maybe go rock climbing or bouldering. I already know I enjoy bouldering I just need a little training and I think I will like climbing just as much. Though I am definitely have to work on my upper body strength. Lol!

Well now I am going to have to close because this is making me carsick. Not a good thing. I will end with this thought: I made a discovery. I have found something that I can do, maybe not well yet but that doesn’t detract from the enjoyment I find in it. I will enjoy it while I can.

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