Away we go...

Alright, again it's been some time since the last blog update and I'm feeling like writing. Life has continued to be very interesting. In the last few months we've been to concerts, entertained family, been to Oklahoma, spent some time in North Carolina, taken a SWR refresher, tried to wake board, paddled the New River in West Virginia, had a 75ft tree at our house struck by lightening, paddled in the Smokys in August, and had some great laughs. Yet during this time we keep thinking, man we haven't been paddling much (obviously not true).

It's been great fun and to be honest, I have loved this summer. It has rained and rained and rained and I love me some rain. The grass is lush and green and the trees have been beautiful. Less one of course...that was a mess. It has really reminded me or Ireland. Tons of green!

We have also been spending a great deal of time with friends and that has been a ball. We have played some Wii, drank some wine, eaten some great food, and laughed until we cried. We have really met some great folks in TN and they have really made our transition very smooth. We're never at a loss for someone to join in on a weekend, or even weekday, adventure. Just a couple of weeks back we threw out the idea to drive up to West Virginia to kayak on a Thursday and we had a bite and left the next day. That was impressive and quite honestly one of the best trips I have had to WV. Great water, food, and friends. The people in TN are truly amazing and quite active.

So as far as plans, it's almost Gauley season so WV here we come, again... We're also really excited about getting some good backpacking weekends in. We recently read that there are over 900 miles of trails in the Smoky Mountains. I'd like to walk them all at some point. I think we're only 20-30 miles in thus far. But there is a great 30 mile hike on the east side of the ridge that I think we might try to do this March. So we could double our mileage in one 3-4 day trip. That would be really nice. We also cannot forget to mention, it's ALMOST FOOTBALL SEASON!!! BOOMER!! Looking forward to seeing Bradford tear it up again, what a great kid on and off the field. I hope our post season can finaly bring a W. That'd be really nice...

So there it is, life is a grea trip. Hope you're enjoying your ride as much as we are. Love, Eat, Laugh, and Explore! "LELE"

Randy