Water, Water, Water (WW # 157)

Wendy and I host this linkup for
the sole purpose of supporting active women.
We thank you for linking your 
FITNESS  RELATED  POST  with us!

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Go ahead and sit back.  There was a lot of water themed action going on around here [the best kind for a southern summer weekend] with my good friend and co-host Wendy.  It's going to be hard to condense into one post.  But, I'll give it my best.

This weekend marked Wendy's and my second annual water skiing extravaganza.  I had been eagerly anticipating it for months!  I asked if she was also up for a Coosa River Adventure.  Although we'd love nothing more, our aging bodies simply won't let us ski all day.  Naturally, she was up for the challenge!  

Friday morning, we listened intently as the wizened, long-haired river hippie performed our safety briefing, all the while being eaten alive by mosquitoes.  I admit I was nervous after hearing about rapids, sharp rocks, entrapment, and the like.  He was frank about how three deaths had occurred in his 23 years of business.  Gulp.  After the stinkiest, hottest van ride imaginable to the entry point beneath the dam, we hopped in our kayaks are were ready to go. 

We were expecting four sections of rapids.  What we didn't realize were how many smaller sets were in each section.  Whew!  We successfully navigated 2 sections...well, except for when Wendy was stuck on some rocks and we laughed until almost wetting ourselves.  But we were thinking:  What's the big deal?  This is easy!  

And then we arrived at the third section of rapids known as Moccasin Gap.

[ cue ominous music...or the theme from Deliverance ]

We had been instructed to paddle left for easier passage.  Wendy suggested we go right.  I agreed. Because really, what's the fun in being a chicken doodie?  She paddled in.  I followed.  Within seconds, my kayak spun and I went down the drop sideways.  I hit a rock and was dumped over.  I went under swirling and bumping around until it calmed enough for me to stand.  I'm still waiting for those Coosa River tattoos (what the old river hippie called bruises) to appear on my rear.  Between giggles, Wendy helped me back into my kayak.  I had fully expected to get wet and thanked my lucky stars for purchasing a water proof box for my phone and key fob. 

The rest of the 7 mile trek was uneventful; the remaining rapids tame.  We enjoyed the beautiful rock facings and outcroppings, incredible blue skies and warm sunshine.  The solitude of the river was amazing.  I can't say enough how much fun this was.  After landing, we stopped to refuel with a late BBQ lunch and drove back up to the dam...this time on the other side...for water skiing.   Yep, that's how we roll.

After some solo ski runs, we decided to ski together.  Let me just say how difficult it is to get out of the water in tandem due to the closeness of the other skier. The fear of crashing into each other is very real.  But, we nailed it on the second attempt!  My title picture above is from our first tandem run (a huge shout out to our willing boat driver and photographer PoPo).  Wendy still has mad skills and we exhausted ourselves.  We capped off the evening at a favorite local Mexican restaurant.

Thanks Wendy for some very unique photos!

After such an ambitious and tiring Friday, and after several cups of much needed coffee in the back porch swing, we spent Saturday morning in the pool floating and soaking up more sunshine.   Later in the afternoon, we returned to the lake for more skiing.  Sadly, the water conditions were not as favorable but we made the most of it.  We ended the day with delicious Greek food.

A rough day is still a good day on the lake!

Sunday morning dawned bright and hot but we were determined to run a few miles.  We went to a local running trail I had never run, always thinking it wasn't wise to run there alone.  It was a lovely trail but very few people were there.  The sweat was dripping from my elbows within minutes.  We stopped at First Watch and indulged with pancakes. 

It was soon sadly time for our water adventure weekend to end but not before a few more pool shenanigans.   Thank you Wendy for being my kind of crazy.

No, this did not end well.  Just ask Rocky.

And that's a wrap!

What is the last adventurous thing you did?

What is your favorite "other" activity?

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