Went squirt boating a few weekends back on the New just outside of Blacksburg. Definitely a different type of boating altogether- super cool though. Got to paddle with some of the pioneers of squirt boating which was cool. My friends Josh and Peter are trying to convince me to get into it, so I figured I would try it out. I've posted a video below the pictures to show you just what squirt boating really looks like (make sure your volume is up- some good banjo pickin on the video). Squirt boating is definitely a whole other subculture (no pun intended) of boating.
On the way back from the New I stopped by Goshen Pass and paddled a lap on the Maury. Hard to turn down an 85 degree day on such a great run. Goshen Pass is probably one of my top favorite places to paddle. Ended up doing a solo run, but ran into several other boaters on the river as it was a perfect river day.
After work yesterday, Nate and I ventured out to Tuckahoe to shoot his bow and arrows. It was my first time in a while shooting a compound bow- I think I tried it when I was in middle school once. I wasn't much good past 15 yards, whereas Nate had it down up to 50 yards. Below are some shots:
Some pictures from yesterday's rafting trip with Kyle, Peyton, Meredith, and Ben. We rafted the upper and lower James river at 9.5'. Good times indeed.
So, I figured the blog was overdue for some updating. I also decided I should actually write something instead of taking the easy way out by just posting a pretty picture or sweet video. Trying to think back a couple weeks...what's been going on.. I'll try to cover some highlights, starting with most recent and stretching as far back as the memory will allow..which may or may not be past a few days.
This past weekend was good times indeed. It all started with the last session of RCLI which was entitled "wrapping it all up", or something along those lines. I've been blessed to be part of a Christian leadership program with many like-minded, ambitious, humble individuals seeking to serve God in Richmond. It has been a really humbling experience to see what God is really up to in our city and the ways he is using lawyers, teachers, Mary Kay reps, business consultants, and graduate students alike to serve a city such as ours. I have been humbled by the hearts my classmates, our presenters, and the leaderrs of RCLI have been given for the people in our city. One of the last excercises our group had to do this weekend was to artistically (some more than others) portray what we see as our desired future. Because I feel like I am truly living by faith during these times in my life, my picture was blank besides for the words "His will be done". I think this describes the last two years and the point I have finally arrived at when thinking about the future. I almost feel secure in this statement and comfortable stating it as a declaration of what I hope the future holds.
Next stop was River Rock. This is a festival held in Richmond that consists of kayaking, bouldering, trail races, dog jumping, seed spittin, hula hoopin, and belly dancin...I may or may not have added the last two..or three..hoping they will be on next years competition agenda. The trail race that I was supposed to run in got postponed Saturday evening because of some lightening storms in the area. We ended up running the race the next morning with a few less competitors. It was a 10k race on the north and south sides of Belle Isle. Definitely a tough race, but a really fun time.
Sunday afternoon we headed out to VMI for William and Caleb's graduation. William was my "rat" at VMI. We ended up staying at a cabin with his family Sunday night just outside of Lexington. It was really cool to see the transition he has made over the last three years. Good times at the Institute.
On our way back Monday afternoon, Peyton and I stopped by Spy Rock for a quick afternoon hike. Beautiful as usual- we enjoyed a rest at the top with a 360 degree panoramic view of the three ridges in the distance.
I knew this would happen- my memory isn't taking me much past four or five days. It can't be anything too exciting that your missing, so we'll just have to pick up from here next time.
I'll leave you with a shoutout video from a group who had one of their members sadly shot and killed on Monday- Cali Swag. You may have heard of the Dougie, a dance move named after Doug E. Fresh, a pioneer in beat boxing. Well, if you haven't learned the Dougie, here's a video that will teach you, preformed by members of Cali Swag.
It was a beautiful spring morning at Tuckahoe. The two days prior, Richmond had seen multiple tornadoes sweep through the surrounding area. I got out to Tuckahoe around 5:30. It was actually the third hunt of the week. Peter had called me on my way out there, telling me that the spot he was planning to go was full of sheep that Daniel had moved to the low grounds.He asked if I wanted him to come call for me but I told him I wanted to give it a try on my own this time. Peter has taught me most of what I know about turkey hunting and I am really grateful for all I've been able to learn from him. I stepped into the pines around 5:40 and stopped at the woods edge to listen. I anticipated hearing an early morning gobbler on the roost. I proceeded after waiting for a couple of minutes. I took my time walking to the fork in the woods where Dawson and I flushed a group of hens and jakes on Monday. When I got about 50 yards in, I heard a distinct gobble coming from about 100 yards to the Southeast. I walked slowly trying not to break any sticks as I was hoping to get between 40-50 yards of the roosted bird. I found a spot I would sit from, set my gun against the tree and went to put my decoy up. Just as I had pushed the decoy into the ground, I heard another gobble, closer than I expected. He was probably 40 yards off. My heart was racing with excitement as it felt like a good morning ahead. Long story short, the roosted jake gobbled for about half an hour and finally hit the ground around 6:30. He ended up circling around me and sneaking up five yards behind me. I got a shot off once he was about ten yards off, still a really close shot for turkey hunting. Definitely a feeling of accomplishment after a couple of weeks of many early mornings. Looking forward to sharing the turkey with friends and family in the next couple weeks.
A great NYT article on what many homeless children face in many U.S. suburban cities. With the face of homelessness changing in the last two years, shelters are seeing an increased percentage of children. Last Friday I met a professor from VCU who volunteers at local, Richmond shelters by tutoring school age children in math, science, and grammer. I was humbled by his compassion for these resilliant and often forgotten treasure of our community. If you have a few minutes, this article gives some insight into what some of the issues these children face daily. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/education/02winerip.html?hp
