Tennessee

Okay, before i get into my tennessee adventures, i'll quickly tell you about my weekend... friday morning i got up around 3:30 am and started my trip home... completely missed the traffic jams, so i guess the weekend started out good... after a relaxing day, things started to go downhill... chris was later getting to my house than planned and we missed the movie we had wanted to see...*sigh* even my brother had given up on chris making it there in time (we were supposed to take him too) so he left to go to dad's... even though he got there 10 min before the movie started (still wanting to go) there was no way that i would have made it through the late showing since i got up at an ungodly hour that morning... saturday was lots of fun... when we got to the rafting place it was raining a bit, and we were worried that it would be yucky all day... but it cleared up and was a good day (more info below)... sunday was nice, as well... eric's graduation was held outside, so there was plenty of room for everyone and it wasn't hot and stuffy... later that night my family played poker... my sister was the big winner... she's never played poker before (watches it on TV some)... and she kicked our butts... it was a good time... and the drive back yesterday wasn't bad either... so all in all it was a good weekend...

now, on to TENNESSEE...

the state where i was born... although, i don't have any memories of that, i thought it an important event that happened for me in TN... so it was worth mentioning... my family lived there till i was four or so... and during that time, we lived next to this little old woman who loved to spoil me... i can remember running to her back door and yelling out "shelton! shelton! you home? got any mints?" Mrs. Shelton always kept After-Dinner Mints around and she would share them with me when i would wander over... my family kept in touch with her after we moved to VA... years later she moved to FL to be with her family... and we didn't really hear from her after that...

much like Myrtle Beach, Gatlinburg was another place where my family would vacation often... Dollywood is the closest amusement park to where my family lives, so we would make at least one trip there each summer... we went there on Girl Scout trips, and my dad's company picnics, and just for a day with the family... New Years 2003 was a great time in Gatlinburg... myself and 6 friends rented a cabin for a few nights to ring in the new year... we had fun playing board games, horsing around in the hot tub, walking along "the strip" in gatlinburg, and ice skating... on the drive down, there was one store in the shopping area of pigeon forge called Sexy Stuf... yes, that's one "f"... and of course, james, mel and I couldn't help but stop just to check it out... with a name like that, who could resist??? it was quite interesting to say the least... mmhmmm...

TN was also where i would spend a week or so of my summer as a kid... at Girl Scout Camp... Camp Sky-Wa-Mo was my home for the week... i always had so much fun there... crafting and swimming, and hiking... so when i had the opportunity to go back and be a councellor a few years ago, i had to take it... and once again, Camp "Skywalker Mojo" (as chris would call it) was my home for the summer, and it was an awesome adventure... sure, some of the girls could have been satan, but overall it was a nice summer... and while i had fun, i probably wouldn't do it again... i like having a telephone and computer, showering everyday, sleeping indoors, and being able to kill bugs too much to give it up again... but it was something i'm glad i did...

at the end of that summer, one of the other councellors (a sorority sis) and i went white water rafting at this place out of TN... what a rush!!! it was exciting, and the nature was beautiful... i couldn't wait to do it again... but i never really had the time to go again after that... until this weekend... i took my brother for his graduation, and chris came along too... it was a pretty good time... our guide was a little disturbing... and i was pitched out of the boat a couple of times... the first time i landed on a rock... and now i have a huge bruise on my back... my legs are a little scraped up too... but no major injuries to report... at one time, chris was the only one left in the boat... that was pretty funny... but while it was fun, it also was a really long day... and by the end i was ready to go home... i would like to go again sometime, but i need time to recover from this trip... maybe in a few years i'd be ready again... yeah...