After the off roading adventure, I decided to take a break and spend some time in Jacksonville with my family. The following day, however, was Labor Day and thus it was school-free. So, the same band of merry idiots from the off roading trip decided to go out for a day paddle on the Suwannee River, anticipating horrible weather and general misery.
Never before have I experienced such great weather for a paddling trip. We explored an old bridge covered in graffiti for a bit, then hopped in one canoe. Yes, all five of us were in one canoe. It was a tight squeeze and the boat barely cleared the water but we made it. We paddle upstream for a while, stopping off at some sand bluffs to swim. Then, we found a beach and stopped off for lunch. I had brought my inflatable shark and an inner tube. I blew them up, which took forever, and then we swam around with them. Mike, Logel, and Chelsea tried to escape with the boat and the shark but I grabbed the inner tube and dove in after them. Kelsey was right behind me. I caught up to the boat and flung myself over the side of the boat. We tied the inflatable shark off the back of the canoe with some paracord and Kelsey rode the shark most of the way back. We all relaxed, letting the current pull us. Then, we spotted the dark thunderclouds that we had anticipated and started to paddle toward shore, packing up the canoe and gear right as the rain started up. We made it out of there just in time.
That night, after a shower and sunburn assessment (I was disappointingly still pale), I headed over to Mike's apartment sans Kelsey. She supposedly had homework to do. Excuses, excuses. Mike and I played Halo on the XBox for about an hour when Logel showed up and took over for me. It was fun but I was pretty terrible at it. Chelsea soon joined and the two of us playing Halo was a disaster. We died every 10 seconds or so, getting lost and confused along the way. It was still a lot of fun but not my forte.
Events occurred: September 2, 2013
Rather than going on the trip to North Carolina that weekend, Mike, Kelsey, Chelsea, Logel and I decided to stay in town and embark on Florida-inspired adventures. We started off the weekend with a few rounds of foosball and XBox at Mike's apartment. I have since learned that I am terrible at both of these games. I can only play defense in foosball and even that is rather weak. I got really into the XBox zombie game we were playing but I also got injured and died a lot. It was still a blast (though kind of graphic).
The next morning, we met up at Logel's to go off roading in the Ocala National Forest. Apparently there are a bunch of jeep trails and Logel has a jeep. We drove around in the forest for a while before trying to cross a big puddle and getting stuck. Logel kept trying to get his jeep out but his tires were spinning, digging a deeper and deeper hole. Mike and I were both on the right side, where the wheels were digging in, and e both started to notice water coming through the door. Soon, we were up to our ankles in muddy swamp water. I tried to grab my belongings (a purse and backpack) but only managed to grab the purse. I also could only find one of my shoes, so I left them for dead and we all climbed out of Mike's window. I was barefoot, wet, dirty, and carrying an expensive leather purse. I was a walking contradiction. We all ate some lunch and then ventured toward cell service and civilization, my bare feet artfully stepping through pine needles and grass.
We happened upon a nearby farm and tried to get help. An older woman answered and let us into her home, offering water and a phone. We had already called AAA but the problem was that we were off the road. The woman called the owners of he farm in hopes that we could access our car more easily but no such luck. We finally started walking up the road, debating whether or not to hitchhike to Gainesville and hoping AAA would be able to help us.
Soon thereafter, a redneck in a huge SUV pulled up with his girlfriend, asking if we were waiting on AAA and stating he was there to save us. We hopped in the backseat and it didn't occur to me until later that he had actually been sent by AAA. We led him about two miles into the forest and he set up chains on Logel's jeep. Luckily for us, the jeep started up despite being submerged in water. We were able to get it out and headed toward Gainesville, bailing out all of the water and sitting in it for the ride home.
Events Occurred: August 30-31, 2013
After the off roading adventure, I decided to take a break and spend some time in Jacksonville with my family. The following day, however, was Labor Day and thus it was school-free. So, the same band of merry idiots from the off roading trip decided to go out for a day paddle on the Suwannee River, anticipating horrible weather and general misery. 
Never before have I experienced such great weather for a paddling trip. We explored an old bridge covered in graffiti for a bit, then hopped in one canoe. Yes, all five of us were in one canoe. It was a tight squeeze and the boat barely cleared the water but we made it. We paddle upstream for a while, stopping off at some sand bluffs to swim. Then, we found a beach and stopped off for lunch. I had brought my inflatable shark and an inner tube. I blew them up, which took forever, and then we swam around with them. Mike, Logel, and Chelsea tried to escape with the boat and the shark but I grabbed the inner tube and dove in after them. Kelsey was right behind me. I caught up to the boat and flung myself over the side of the boat. We tied the inflatable shark off the back of the canoe with some paracord and Kelsey rode the shark most of the way back. We all relaxed, letting the current pull us. Then, we spotted the dark thunderclouds that we had anticipated and started to paddle toward shore, packing up the canoe and gear right as the rain started up. We made it out of there just in time.
That night, after a shower and sunburn assessment (I was disappointingly still pale), I headed over to Mike's apartment sans Kelsey. She supposedly had homework to do. Excuses, excuses. Mike and I played Halo on the XBox for about an hour when Logel showed up and took over for me. It was fun but I was pretty terrible at it. Chelsea soon joined and the two of us playing Halo was a disaster. We died every 10 seconds or so, getting lost and confused along the way. It was still a lot of fun but not my forte. 
