Getting Soggy on the Santa Fe River and Beyond

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-914874653356847668.post-43428375516140385332007-07-02T21:00:00.000-04:002007-07-02T21:20:16.371-04:00Getting Soggy on the Santa Fe River and BeyondWhat a busy weekend it's been.... Friday I took the boys to the Natural History Museum in Gainesville. Saturday the whole family headed out to see the Devil's Millhopper, which is a big old sink hole up in Gainesville. There is a wooden trail and stair case clear to the bottom - 236 steps if I remember right. We counted on our way back up - felt more like 536. After that we visited the Santa Fe community college Teaching Zoo - and after that, as if that wasn't already a day full, we drove out to Newman's Lake which isn't very far from our house. We crept up on a bunch of big old alligators laying on the shore, it was rather exciting! Sunday we took the canoe and kayak out to the Santa Fe River for a float trip. It wasn't one of our better floats - Chriss mostly wanted to fish so we spent a lot of time just sitting dead in the water, then paddling a ways to sit dead in the water again, but slowly we made our way up stream and got out to swim a bit when the clouds blew in and thunder began to rumble. A whoosh of wind came screaming up the river channel right at us as the sky grew black and we knew we had to hustle back to the truck. With Everett and Garrison on board with me, I began to paddle, stroke after stroke after stroke until my arms were burning with exhaustion but the thunder was cracking directly above and behind me, racing me it felt as I paddled leaving the canoe with Chriss and Brian far behind me. "Lord help me! Lord help me! Oh God give me strength!" I spoke out loud keeping my eyes fixed on that water bottle between my feet, just stroking paddle after paddle because if I let up at all, the strong head-on wind spun me around. Every stroke took me a few inches further, fighting against the wind that wanted to push me back in to the coming storm. Garrison bless his heart, he fell asleep. Everett, appearing to sense the potential for doom kept his mouth completely shut. How much further could it be? Oh God how much further? And then a burst of wind and a crack of thunder, the black sky lowering itself on to us with fury. I looked behind me to find nothing but storm clouds and a choppy river. Chriss and Brian were far out of sight behind me somewhere and CRACK went the thunder and POP went my heart in to a major panic that very nearly threw me in to a tail spin as I realized I was out in the middle of no where with two babies on board with a massive storm hot on my tail. Suddenly my paddle strokes were cutting the water instead of pushing it as I fumbled with the paddle that felt like lead in my hands. The wind began to push the bow of my boat around sideways and terror didn't creep in to me, it rushed! "Oh God help me! Don't panic Shaw! Don't panic Shaw! It's OK, it's OK, paddle, paddle, just paddle oh Lord lay down this wind before it knocks me over!" then realizing the 3 year old was hearing his mother's near hysteria I focused on him, "It's OK Everett." I told him. "Mommy will take care of you, don't worry." "OK" he said with total trust. If I could only trust myself....paddle Shaw, paddle Shaw, focus on the bottle cuz if you look up all you'll see is dark clouds and wind and waves and that endless river you gotta cover back to the truck, focus on the bottle and stroke. I could see my heart pounding in my chest and my arms were on fire as I paddled as fast as I possibly could. Alas, the launch. I swung in and jerked both boys out of the boat running to deposit them safely in to the truck before I ran back to the water to watch for Chriss and Brian to arrive. Eventually they did and we were tying the boats on in the rain. It was one of those days that remind you that you're alive. Today, Monday, the last of Chriss's 3 day weekend for the Independence Day Holiday we went back to the Santa Fe to test drive a couple kayaks from an outfitter there in High Springs. We had our eye on one in particular for Brian but when I tried it I discovered how tippy it was when it promptly flipped, throwing me off in to the water. OH well, the search continues. Home to a rack of ribs that had been slow cooking on the smoker all day and the boys all in bed early...ah, peace. Tomorrow its back to work for Chriss and back to normal at home for the Soggy Bottom Boys and I. s. <div class="blogger-post-footer">If you lay down with dogs, you're going to get fleas.</div>Soggy Bottom Mommahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10226580090761992966noreply@blogger.com