Scotty told me Friday evening he was
taking me on a surprise date for the day yesterday: destination? Unknown. My
other instructions were to wear something comfortable. And I did.
We took our beach blanket and packed a
cooler for a picnic, which is something we have never done before.
So, off we went with the top down on the
Mustang and the wind blowing through what little bit of hair I have headed
toward Johnson City. We continued making our way through Elizabethton after we
made a few stops to use the rest room and get breakfast. I mean, we couldn’t
have completed both tasks at one stop, right? Pretty soon you could feel the
temperature begin to fall as we entered into NC but the sun remained warm,
radiating my chill bumps. But the scenery, the mountains were simply majestic.
Our God is a Mighty God, Creator, Painter, and Sculptor.
We eventually stopped, but where we were
I had no clue. As we get out of the car, Scott tells me we are going to rent a
boat. I was so excited! I asked, “A ski boat or a pontoon?” He replied, “A canoe”.
I laughed. He smiled. I realized he was serious.
So, we took our cooler and our blanket
and make our way to the dock. All the while I kept reminding myself I’d never
done this before. I didn’t know what to do. I even asked Scott if we were going
to take our cooler as I was afraid it weighed too much! He smiled and said, “Yes,
it won’t sink the boat.” As if he read my mind!
The kind young man helped me get in the front.
Scott got in the back so he could be the “stern”, having all the turning power.
And, yes, our cooler made it on board, seated nicely between us, yet, not in
reach. Oh, and our seats? They even had back rests, which was so nice. Once
Scott was seated, the young man handed me an oar, and I quickly asked him what I
was supposed to do with it. He laughed. I didn’t. So he told me to just put it
in the boat, along with the two life jackets. And I did.
As we were pushed away from the dock, I
went to turn around to talk to Scott and he quickly said, “Honey, sit down, sit
still!” I didn’t know . . . it was amazing how much the boat turned to one side
when I just turned around. As I quickly returned to my seated position, looking
straight ahead, I’ll admit . . . my heart was racing after a near up close encounter
with Price Lake.
But once I became more comfortable, in
my canoe, on the water, I even put my oar in the water. Scott instructed me what
to do and more importantly, what not do, like “don’t move.” As we were making
our way around the lake we found the perfect spot for a picnic, but Scott was
quite unsure we could dock the boat without getting everything soaking wet.
So we paddled on. As we made our way
back, there was that same area, calling our names. I told
Scott we could do it. I had no clue how, but I knew we could. So here we went.
Our target? Between two big rocks. I thought how hard could this be? And you
know what? We did it! And I couldn’t help but remember the tune to “Michael, (or
in this case Susan) row your boat ashore, Halle-luuuuu-jah!”
Scott hopped into the water about knee
deep, without turning me over, and pulled the canoe onto dry land so I wouldn’t
get my feet wet . . . and, so the boat, I mean the canoe, wouldn’t float away. We
spread out the blanket and had a very enjoyable picnic Scott had prepared for
us, including a bottle of wine, cheese and crackers, olives, grapes and a big
bag of Wavy Lays! As we enjoyed our picnic, we also had fun speaking, talking
to passer-byers who were walking the trail around the lake.
Getting the canoe parked was one thing. Now we had to leave. I got in first while Scott pushed us out a bit before getting in . . . safely and without getting either one of us wet, once again. So, we continued to paddle around the lake before leaving for our final destination in Blowing Rock, NC. Again, a first for me.
Getting the canoe parked was one thing. Now we had to leave. I got in first while Scott pushed us out a bit before getting in . . . safely and without getting either one of us wet, once again. So, we continued to paddle around the lake before leaving for our final destination in Blowing Rock, NC. Again, a first for me.
Thinking back over our incredible time
yesterday I thought about how my experience in the canoe is a lot like life:
· When we didn’t paddle, the canoe began to drift.
· If we didn’t work together, it was more
difficult to go the direction we were headed.
· If I tried to turn around to see what was behind
me, the canoe would begin to rock, becoming very unstable on the water.
· As long as I was looking straight ahead, the
canoe remained stable.
· When other canoes were headed or crossing our
way, we had to be intentional in our paddling to avoid any fender-benders, or
in this case, canoe-benders.
· While paddling along on smooth waters, we had to
be careful of drift wood. Sometimes we could see it sticking up out of the water.
Other times, it was very difficult to see until we were upon it.
· I had to learn to trust the navigator, the one
who controlled the rudder.
· And finally, being open to new adventures? Makes
life even better.