From Left to Right: Doug, Chris (standing), Lane (sitting),
Andrew DeWeerd, Rich, and Tim DeWeerd (my brother). |
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Getting
Out of Town
Once a
year, usually in November, my friends and I take a three day trip down the
Suwannee River. I have been on four of these trips; some of the
other guys have been on almost a dozen of them. The following text
and pictures describe the trips. Pictures were randomly selected
from several trips.
The canoe group varies depending on the year and
individual extenuating circumstances (work, family, and other
annoyances). However, it is usually composed of between 3 and 6 of
the individuals in the picture on the left.
We usually leave on a Saturday. We drop off a vehicle at
our final canoeing destination, and then continue on to the famous Cindy Motel. We then get out and get something to eat. We highly
recommend the Rhodes BBQ for the smoked pork, grilled corn on the cob, and
the easy-to-look-at waitress'.
We get back to the motel and do the final packing of our
bags and the coolers. Everything that is perishable gets iced
down. The old TVs at the motel get turned on to check on local
weather, although it really doesn't matter at this point. During one
of the trips we had a full hurricane moving across the area -- we still
went.
Into the Wild
The next morning we get to the river. We drop in
at a park which has a boat ramp. The bridge seen in the photograph is the last one we will
see for three days (with exception of the defunct railroad bridge, which
is shown later in this story).
It takes about an hour to get the canoes packed with all
of our gear. Everything is tied down to the canoe with
"bungie" cords and rope. Since I have been taking these
trips, there has never been a tip-over. Chris can tell some
stories, though, of capsized canoes, with gear either sinking or quickly
floating away.
The final action is the simultaneous "physssst"
of several beer cans opening at the same time. The cans get placed
into the canoe-mounted cup-holders, and we begin to float away.
Suwannee Adventures: Part
II ==> |
