We left Jackson mid-morning Friday and then hit Beale Street for the afternoon with Dave. We just walked around, had a few cold drinks to celebrate the fact that it was Friday AND a long holiday weekend, and listened to some good blues on the patio of Silky's.Once we left downtown it was back out to Dave's house in East Memphis, then we picked up Rachel and headed to dinner at The Germantown Commissary for some classic Memphis BBQ. SO GOOD!!
We woke up bright and early Saturday and packed up the car (we looked like the Beverly Hillbillies) and hit the road to Buffalo River in Flatwoods, Tenn., outside of Nashville. About two and a half hours later, we were ready to set up our campsite (yes, I camped in a tent - stop laughing) and put our canoes in the water.
Derek and I had never canoed together before. He's never been at all, and while I've been canoeing, it was many many years ago, and I'm pretty sure I sat in the middle and didn't do any paddling. This was much different. Ha! We tipped over in the first 90 seconds. It was a cold wake-up call, but that's all it took to get our butts in gear and get a paddling system going. We were river rock stars after the first two minutes! Ha!
The trip was about eight miles total, and we stopped a lot to swim or walk up to a waterfall or for the guys to do some cliff-jumping. Here's Derek mid-jump. And this wasn't even the highest one - my waterproof camera ran out of film before we got to the big jump. Crazy.
We made it back to the campsite in about seven hours, only flipping over once more towards the very end. We did fine until the last mile or so when it was still water and you couldn't stop paddling. We were exhausted. I don't think I've used some of these muscles in my whole life. Ouch. All in all, I give us an A for our first time canoeing! It was so much fun, and we made a pretty good team. I only have a few pretty bruises to keep as souvenirs. :)
Camping was a blast, too. It was a cool 67 degrees outside, which made sleeping in a tent actually enjoyable. Bugs weren't an issue, the fire burned all night, our cheddar brats we made over the fire were delicious, as were the s'mores. A total success and a great way to celebrate the beauty of this great country!!
We woke up with the sunshine Sunday morning and packed up. Sunday afternoon we relaxed our super sore muscles in Rachel's apartment pool for a while before going downtown for a quick bite to eat and to watch the fireworks.
We got a special treat after the fireworks when Dave and his music buddies decided to fit in a little practice jam session. They are SO GOOD! We love hearing Dave play the guitar, usually "Dave Unplugged" on our back deck or at the lake. This was "Dave Plugged In" with his electric guitar, another electric guitar AND some drums. Amazing. Not to mention their practice area is in a super cool warehouse downtown. I felt very "urban." Ha!
So if you're itching for some good live music, go check out Double Daves next time they play around Memphis. You can thank me later. Or you could just check out this snip-it of them playing my favorite song, Wagon Wheel by Old Crow. :)
We had such a great weekend! It was the perfect little road trip. And if I couldn't be at Eagle Lake enjoying America's birthday, this was the best way to spend it. Happy Birthday, America!
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