We finally arrived at the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) in Wesser, NC with our Girl Scout troop for a week of high adventure! So glad to be outdoors in another setting. The mountains are beautiful, the river is cold, and the sounds, sights, and smells surrounding this campus of outdoor fun are just superb.
Sue are I are enjoying our hammocks by the river, decompressing after 8 hours on the road today and 3 hours yesterday. We are listening to a live band at the "Big Wesser BBQ & Brew" while people enjoy the fading light playing corn hole, watching kayakers on the river, and hanging out by the campfire.
We had a good trip up from Tampa, stopping in Valdosta last night. Sydney's grandmother gave Sue and I each a beautiful hiking stick that she carved with Native American artwork and paracord wrapping compete with turk's head knots on the handles! What lovely and thoughtful gifts! Here we are as we depart the land of FLAT;
The bunk rooms are rustic and I am on the top bunk which is over 6 feet off the ground! I better strap myself in!
I also can't believe my parents took my whole family camping in one of these VW's back in the late 60's. How did a family of 5 fit in this thing? I just remember that as the oldest child, I got to sleeping in the pop up bunk way up high. Guess I have always been the top bunk kid. Thanks for those great memories, mom and dad!
The girls all loved the outfitter store and had to try on all the new Chaco's (shoes) for this year. The salesman said he sells truckloads of these to all the young ladies. I think he likes working in this department!
Dinner by Jeramiah was superb as usual and he was surprised to see us. He did not know we were his same group from last year; the ones for whom he made that wonderful cheesecake. While the accommodations here are rustic, the food is First Class!
The girls are enjoying just hanging out with their girlfriends. It's nice to hear them laugh and see them smile. They are very comfortable here at NOC.
I found several cute T-shirts at the store that I liked because of their great outdoor sayings. I have a closet full of T-shirts, but one of these is calling to me. It says; "The Wild is not a place to go. It is a thing to be." That's going to be my new motto when I get back to teaching school at Nature's Classroom this fall!
Lastly, a couple of college kids were in the other hammocks by the river and told us how they stack them 16 hammocks high at school in Augusta,GA, how they climb them to the top, and how they flip them upside down in order to talk to the person below them or to text. We had fun practicing the flip and even got to the point where we could do some barrel rolls! Cousins Cole and Zac left us with these parting words after our lesson; "stay beautiful, my butterflies!" That just made our day!
Enjoyed reading this.Sounds like a fun place with lots of young people. Stay safe and have a fun week.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Will do!
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