5/27-5/30:

I'm back in Charlotte... Kind of. I went back to a campsite that I really enjoyed the last time I was through town. The campsite is actually about 15 miles outside of Charlotte. I basically spent these days resting, planning, cooking, reading, and going to the US National Whitewater Center. The resting included being in bed by 10 and waking around 7. The planning included making plans to meet a friend in Nashville and then meandering back up Northeast to meet some friends in the DC area. The cooking included oatmeal, pancakes, and then a lot of beans and rice style meals.

The reading included two books "Into the Wild" by John Krakauer and "Daring to Live on the Edge: The Adventure of Faith and Finances" by Loren Cunningham. "Into the Wild" was actually given to me by some guy on the Appalachain Trail while I was in Asheville because he had finished it and no longer wanted to carry the extra weight. It is a non-fiction account about the journeys of Chris McCandless, a recent college grad, while making his way around the country for two years. I had enjoyed the movie when I watched it a few months ago, but I enjoyed the book even more.

The other book "Daring to Live on the Edge" was actually a book that I was supposed to have given to someone before leaving San Antonio, but had forgot and so figured I should give it a read before sending it back to its owner in San Antonio. It was a challenging book, with a much different look at finances than I am accustomed. . I admit that there were a few too many stories in the book for my taste, but if you are a Christian and want to be challenged with your outlook on finances, give this book a read.

The US National Whitewater Center is a pretty incredible center. It has a plethora of outdoor activities in which you can partake. The activities include: walking/jogging, eco caching, bicycling, rock climbing, a ropes course, flat water kayaking, whitewater kayaking, and whitewater rafting. I was able to sign up for a two hour session of whitewater rafting. I was paired up with five other people and a guide to fill the raft. There are two courses that they take you down about 3 times each. The first course is the beginner course and has class 2 and 3 rapids. The second course is the intermediate course and has class 3 and 4 rapids. The raft was pretty large and almost impossible to flip if you or your guide are paying attention. There is opportunity to fall out, but no one it our raft fell out... darn. To up the difficulty a little, they offer rafts that are probably half the size and can be pretty easily flipped. I would want to try those if I was to do something like that again. Overall it was a fun experience, but it got pretty exhausting at times because I think myself and guide were the only two paddling, the others in the raft were a bunch of timid teenagers.

On the Morning of the May 31st, I took off for Knoxville, making my way to Nashville, TN.