Finally!

As odd as it sounds, one of the most persistent 'dreams' I had for retirement was lighting off during the week, setting up camp at Smoky Mountain Meadows and paddling (or not) as the mood struck me for several days. After more than 5 months of retirement, I finally got around to it this week. While I didn't really have a plan for paddling, I was pleasantly surprised to find a couple of CCCers already planning to be there for the weekend so I hooked up with them. I met them at Ferebee on Sat and paddled my G-force. My plans SUnday were also to paddle with them, but also demo a Habitat 74, the creek boat I've been looking at. I got a demo from Endless Rivers and ran the river in it. As fate would have it, ERA also had the identical model and color (yellow, just like I was seeking) for sale on their deck. It didn't take too much thinking to make the leap and buy it when I got off the river that afternoon. That night, after the first round of CCCers left, a sceond round pulled into SMM from a day on the Ocoee and I got to join them on the Nanty for a 3rd day. On Tuesday, I decided to run laps on the falls and practice my Micro-Macro in the new boat and take some photos to kill off the rest of the day.

It was a really relaxing five days that lived up to the anticipation. I found myself relaxing but satisfied sitting in camp at night, reading a good book.