This is our "vacation home", when we got there one of our tent poles was in pieces so MA had to figure out how to get it to work. After several attempts he got it and the tent stood the whole trip, but we trashed it when we left.
MA is keeping a close eye on our dinner.
On Monday we took our boats and went kayaking on the Hiwassee River. We are used to taking our boats on calm rivers like the Harpeth, so the Hiwassee was quite and adventure. We don't have spray skirts so our boats kept filling up with water and we kept getting out and draining them. The Hiwassee has Class I to Class III rapids throughout the 9 mile stretch we paddled. This photo was taken while we were taking a break and draining the boats. Shortly after this picture was taken I hit a Class III sideways, my boat filled with water and flipped over. I swam the remainder of the rapid and managed to keep my boat from sinking completely. Fun times!!
One night on our way back up to the campsite we stopped at an overlook with an old stone gazebo to catch the sunset. We barely made it in time. I love these pictures of us watching the sunset.
It was so beautiful!!
This is our attempt at getting a photo with the sunset in the background.
On Wednesday we went to Etowah to watch the USA soccer game and finish up some shopping. Then we headed to the Upper Ocoee to an awesome swimming spot that most people don't know about. I used to come here all the time when I was in college. Just down river is the Blue Hole which is a VERY popular swimming spot and was crowded with people. We kept hiking and finally arrived at one of my favorite spots on earth. This swimming hole is awesome because you can't really see it from the trail and because it is deep, you can't touch most of the time.
The water is the perfect temperature and crystal clear. The only swimming companions we had were the rainbow trout. They looked beautiful as their scales glistened in the sunlight.
We believe that camping does not mean hotdogs and hamburgers for every meal. We tried to stay on our fresh foods diet as best we could. This night we had fillet mignon, grilled potatoes, steamed broccoli, a salad and some local muscadine wine to help wash it down. It was the best meal I have ever had while camping.On Thursday and Friday we rafted the Ocoee with my favorite outfitter, Wildwater, Ltd. Thursday was an awesome trip. We had a great guide, Ryan, and a boat full of experienced rafters. We had so much fun we got on as walk-ons for a Friday trip. Friday's trip was good, too. Beautiful weather and awesome water!!
On Saturday we headed to Chattanooga to visit my long-time friend India, her husband Josh and their beautiful baby girl Calliope. We headed downtown via the free electric shuttle. We rode the entire route before heading over the river to watch the USA game at Northshore Grille. 
After the game we met up with India and Josh at The Terminal, a cool, local micro-brewery. This is where we finally got a decent picture of us together! There are others, but in this one we are actually clean and groomed!!
Hubby got this sweet hat there. We crashed at India's house Saturday night and met Mimi to get the kids on Sunday. They were more excited to see us then I had expected, but then Tristan told me that they were just coming to say "hi" to us, then they were going back to Mimi's! They had a blast hanging out with Mimi, Poppy, Uncle Matt and Layla. They did all kinds of fun things like going to the drive-in to see Toy Story 3, swimming at Aunt Terry's, going to the park, riding bikes and lots more!! This was the longest we have ever been away from the kids, EVER. It was really nice to have a week to reconnect and remember what started this family in the first place. A HUGE thanks to Mimi and Poppy for putting up with our kids for 7 whole days!!!!! 
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