Winter Break

Winter break has been good and I have had the opportunity to see my family, catch up with old friends, and start this blog. After returning from NZ I had high hopes of kayaking everyday, or at least a few days a week. Unfortunately, the Southeast is in a drought and kayaking has been slim. There have been days when rivers were at a good level however the levels are on the low side. I have been able to make some trips down Sec. IV, Big Creek, Lower Meadow, Tellico and several days at Rock Island. Just a few days ago I traveled to WV for three days of work to prepare for the upcoming semester. After our meetings I had the opportunity to paddle the Lower Meadow for the first time. Good friend and coworker Scott Wooten was my guide and we did a quick run to beat the darkness. After our paddle I followed Scott to his hometown of Harrisonburg, Virginia where we would snowboard and ski the next couple of days. Scott who teaches snowboarding talked me into snowboarding over skiing my first day. Needless to say I was a gumby on a snowboard. The second day I made the switch back to skies and made some turns with Scott during his break. Now I’m back at my family’s place in Tennessee counting the days until time to leave for Chile. I’m excited to be traveling again.