Crikey, Mate!!!

I have done a lot of really cool things in my life like hiking to the top of 12,ooo-foot mountains, cliff jumping, dog mushing, grizzly bear watching, snorkeling, white water rafting, spelunking, etc., and now I can add yet another great adventure to my list--canoeing through an alligator infested swamp in a tumultuous thunder storm.

We took the three oldest children down to Okefenokee Swamp to go canoeing and it was AMAZING! The water looks black from the rotting vegetation on the bottom. If you scoop some up into your hand it looks like Coca Cola. Lily pads and moss line the sides of the swamp, as do alligators. I have to admit it made me a little nervous to be within arm's distance from so many alligators and to see their eyes blinking above the water as their bodies remained hidden. However, after observing them, I realized they were skiddish, not the least bit agressive, and more than anything, just downright lazy. Besides that eye blinking, they pretty much did nothing.

The day started out sunny and beautiful, about 80 degrees (perfect), but then the black clouds came rolling in. We had looked at the weather and noticed a chance of rain, so we brought garbage bags to pull over and use as slickers. We saw the clouds rolling in, but once it decided to rain, the heavens opened up and dumped buckets. We had no time to cover anything besides the camera. Within seconds we were as soaked as if we had jumped in to swim. The lightening began shooting across the sky and the thunder was so loud, it rocked the poor little canoe. But worst of all was the winds kept driving our boat into the sides. Brian and I paddled as fast as our old people arms could paddle, but the rain was so heavy we could hardly see in front of us. The kids got really scared, but I yelled back "It's like being in a movie, isn't it!" They began laughing, so we all laughed at our predicament and despite being soaking wet and having arms so sore they can no longer be used as arms, we had a fabulous time. Here are a few pics of the event! I can't wait to go back, it was awesome.