After we picked the kids up from Camp Pinnacle, we drove to Big Canoe in Georgia for summer fun with the Anders family. During the drive, we went past Nantahala Outdoor Center where Paige did river rafting just days before, so we pulled in and had lunch and took a look at the place.
We arrived at the house in Big Canoe fairly early and we unpacked some of our things and hung out until the rest of the family arrived. The house was beautiful, recently renovated, and was fairly secluded in the hilly Georgia landscape with trees everywhere and a nice view off the back porch. We had plenty of space for everyone and we loved the back porch and the fire pit where we roasted marshmallows and just relaxed as the sun went down each evening. There were quite a few daddy longlegs, but not a lot of annoying bugs like mosquitoes or horseflies, so it was still pretty pleasant to be outside without a screen. The kids slept in a bunk room along with Graydon. Drew and Allison had a room with a couple beds nearby and the Gobles were upstairs in the master bedroom with Griffin.
The weather was quite a bit cooler than Florida, and there was always rain in the forecast, although it didn't end up raining that much at all thankfully. We ended up planning some activities with the weather in mind, but the rain never ended up being a problem for more than a few minutes at a time. We took a lot of long walks on the shady, windy, and hilly trails. The red loop and blue loops combined for 3 miles and the red loop trail was just feet from our house's driveway. We saw lots of deer in the woods and even saw a momma black bear and her cubs during a drive.
We went tubing at a nearby stretch of river with Cartecay River Experience, which was considered the "chill" option. We were a little worried it'd be too boring, but there were actually a few stretches that were a little fast and one area that had some big rocks and drops. The first time through, we didn't have any issues and we had so much fun that a few of us decided to do it all over again. On the second trip through, the fast area was somehow more tricky. I wasn't worried since I'd been through it before so I decided to just take a video and ended up capturing as I flipped. I grabbed my life vest, grabbed my tube, and managed to keep my phone out of the water. I had the phone in a waterproof bag on a lanyard but I still didn't want to test the effectiveness of the bag. After I found my footing, I stayed by the rapids and filmed as Amanda and Nate also got flipped over.
We spent quite a while on the water during the week, including at the pool. Connor went with Nate and Drew to see the Braves. The kids also went downtown with Genie and the Rudolphs to see the Georgia Aquarium.
Paige's favorite parts of the trip were the pontoon boat, standup paddleboards, and games including Monopoly, Snorta and Spoons. Connor's favorite parts were the pontoon boat, standup paddleboards, and he enjoyed going out to eat with the family. His favorite meal was the steak from the Black Bear Pub. Andrea and I also enjoyed the boat and SUPs, but we were both surprised how much we loved the tubing.
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