An Outing with the Kids

I sometimes think I should moonlight as a travel agent or event planner.  We just recovered (or are still trying to recover) from a rafting trip with a group from the church.

In 2010 we took the Youth Group on a rafting trip in the beautiful North Carolina mountains.  We stayed at the Methodist Mecca also known as Lake Junaluska.  We had such a wonderful time!  When the adults in the church heard about the fun, they wanted to try taking the trip if it was safe enough.  The only restrictions that the rafting company had was that you must be at least 7 years of age and weigh 60 pounds.  All of these adults qualified.

In 2011 we wound up with 24 people who took the trip and 21 rafters.  The ages ranged from a 15 year old high schooler to 80-something retirees.  They were like children, wanting to "do it again" as soon as the ride was over. There were some folks who wanted to go but the timing was off and others who didn't realize it was for adults, so they wanted to go the next year if we did it again.

This year, as soon as 2012 began I started hearing murmurings about the trip.  I checked the website repeatedly about the package prices and finally in March they posted information.  We began forming a list of interested people.  The list would shrink and grow over the next months.  Some would choose to raft, then not raft, then raft again, then one member of the couple wouldn't raft.  Some would go on train rides instead.  It was at times very confusing about who was or was not going but one thing was certain, we would all stay at Lake Junaluska.

This year we had 30 folks who made the trip.  There were 18 rafters, 4 train riders, 6 non-rafters who followed the rafters down the river by car and took photos.  The preacher and I, who had only gotten about 3 hours of sleep the night before, drank coffee, catnapped, and enjoyed watching the ducks, fish and a beautiful chocolate lab play in the river at the Nantahala Outdoor Center.  Just being outdoors in the fresh, clean mountain air was so relaxing.  One day spent outdoors in the NC mountains is the equivalent of 3 days of vacation in the city.

When the rafts returned from their journey we learned that two sailors went overboard - one went twice! The chatter over lunch was fun as we heard recaps of their adventures.  The afternoon was free of planned events so everyone was able to do as they wished until we would meet again at Lake J for dinner.  People would leave Lake Junaluska and begin to head home the day after rafting.  Some would head directly home, others would spend a few more days stopping along the way to see various sights, after all, it is an 8 hour plus trip!

These folks are what I imagine full time kids would be like when they have grown up with all their techno toys (iPads and smart phones).  What a fun group!