We headed to my hometown and met up with my parents then headed to Riverrat's. Riverrat's is located in Scranton, SC and is a great place to rent a kayak to explore the river. We had made reservations so when we arrived (early...what can I say we were excited!), they were getting ready for us. We completed our paperwork, got our lifejackets, and loaded up in the truck to head to the river. Once we arrived at where we would put in to begin our 5 mile kayaking trip, we chatted for a few minutes then got in our kayaks and our adventure began.
The river levels were great (2.74)! For the majority of the trip we could see sandbars just inches below the water where we saw fish and turtles. My Daddy saw a snake drop from the tree into the water and I was just fine with NOT seeing that in the water...I mean again, snakes, I just can't! Then we heard this very unique sound which of course was some type of bird but I yelled out, "It's a Sasquatch"! (Signs I've watched 1 too many Sasquatch YouTube videos with the mister)
These creatures are so cute! They were swimming from one side of the bank to the other, gathering greenery to build their nest.
We saw fish, a blue heron, several muskrats, a snake, we ate boiled peanuts, paddled 5 miles down the river, and enjoyed each others company (oh and did I mention that when we got next to my parents kayak, we started paddling faster and of course I started singing The Race is On by Sawyer Brown...y'all remember that song, right? "Now the race is on and here comes pride in the backstretch...") Our kayaking trip came to an end but not before my clumsiness decided that it wanted to be seen SO after exiting the kayak and 'attempting' to step up to the bank, I slipped and face planted into the earth. Don't worry, I didn't hurt myself, I just got up (I'm pretty clumsy so falling is just a norm for me so much so that when I do fall I tend to spring back up), dusted off my legs and kept walking...well that was until I looked at my mom and then I started laughing so hard I was crying. Side Note: If there is ever a time when something funny happens BUT you're in a situation where laughing would be inappropriate NEVER look in my mom's direction...her attempt to NOT laugh is so funny that not laughing is not an option. Well while my mom and I were laughing so hard we're crying, my mister, who is walking a little ahead of us, falls down. (Just so you know, I'm laughing so hard I'm crying while typing this story!) Don't worry, my mister is fine but we can check the 'both clumsy' box on the compatible sheet. Just so you know, my Daddy is so used to my clumsiness and can of course tell by my facial expressions if I'm hurt or not, didn't miss a beat in his conversation with the men from Riverrats...it was just like daughter down, she's fine, keep talking, daughter's mister down, he's fine, keep talking. To my Daddy that knows me so well, I appreciate his role in keeping these moments as normal as possible instead of awkward!
After working up an appetite, we headed to Big D's BBQ Barn in Hemingway, SC. We enjoyed a great lunch (there chicken perlo is amazing!), then my Daddy surprised my mister with a side trip.
My mister is currently reading A Piece of the Fox's Hide by Katharine Boling. A Piece of the Fox's Hide is about the Bigham family from the Pee Dee area. They are 'well known' and not in a good way. I grew up hearing stories about this family and have visited a couple of the Bigham family places (this of course was 15+ years ago). After leaving Big D's we headed to the cemetery where some of the Bighams are buried.
This was a great day filled with family time, river time, communing with nature, eating good food, and exploring/learning local history.
Happy Travels,
Amber
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