Down the river

After church on Sunday, we drove out of Birmingham to go tubing down the Little Cahaba River. I thought it would be too cold to be in the water (it was in the 70's, but I am used to 90 degree water for my therapeutic swim at the rec center!), but that is what we did.

Yes - I did use the bathroom. No lock - there was a rope to hold it shut while you sat on the pot.



Quite the place, huh? Unlike this place we passed on our way home through Arkansas.

We climbed in the back of the pickup and he drove us to a point up river and let us off.

It was chilly - no, it was freezing! I was so glad to have brought my windbreaker with me! I had read on-line to wear more than just a swim suit as the rocks can cut you up. Al has wounds to prove that.

We were too chicken to try to go over most of the rapids. So each time, we would get out and walk around on the land.



There was a sign for "No alcohol" but judging from all the beer cans on the tree, no one paid attention.
Shortly after this photo, Mindy lost one of her shoes. It was in a bend in the river and Al got up on the land and ran across and jumped in the river on the other side and rescued it!

Earlier when Mindy and I went over a smaller rapids, the waterproof camera we purchased slipped away and went down stream, but a couple quite a ways down river caught it for us!!

We watched a guy actually climb up the ladder and dive in. About 35 feet!
End of the road (or river) where we got out. This is the owner who gave us a thumbs up.




A very cool waterslide. One can get up to 50 mph going down it, but once a guy flew across the river and banged his head on the rock wall across from it. Insurance prices were just too high to keep it up so it is no longer in use.

The car felt so nice and warm and we were exhausted as we drove back to Mindy's.



We passed this lumberyard that reminded me of where I grew up in Japan.


We thought that was interesting. Echizen is a town close to Kyoto. Don't know the history that made the towns sister cities.
Xander was happy to see us when we got back.


What adventures we have with our daughter!

As I am typing this, I was reminded in 3 different settings this day the truth that Christ spoke -
"I will be with you always".
Our lives are similar to traveling down a river. There are bends in the stream, unexpected turns. Times when you might hit a swirly whirlpool where you can't seem to get anywhere. The journey can be beautiful. The rocks can be slippery and as you try to walk across them, you fall flat (like one unnamed person in our group!). There are rapids that are dangerous and need avoiding - and sometimes you can't seem to avoid them at all! You might even get cut up. But Christ promises "I will be with you always." And just like that owner who gave us that thumbs up at the end of the trip, Christ welcomes us with a "well done" at the end as we have traversed life with Him.

"When you pass through the waters
I will be with you;
and through the rivers,
they shall not overflow you."

God doesn't promise that we will escape the turbulent seas of life, but He does promise
"I will never leave you nor forsake you." Hebrews 13:5

Sunday

Sunday morning we went to The Church at Brook Hills which is not very far from Mindy's apartment. It was very interesting as they were launching their new church plant that will begin on Easter Sunday, just like our church is. Their pastor, David Platt (who wrote "Radical") had done a series on Acts and some of the people felt led to do a church plant on the south side of Birmingham. Our church has been going through Acts also as we start a church plant in Hillsboro.


After worship, we went to The Summit and ate at Flip Burgers.

Notice how the chairs and tables are flipped? And the ceiling art is pretty awesome!



Mindy ordered onion rings which were the BEST I've ever eaten! We had sweet potato tots and they give you whipped marshmallow fluff to dip them in! Oh my!!

We ate outside and this was the view.

We were fueled up for the afternoon to go tubing down the Little Cahaba River! (next post)

Six Flags over Georgia with Min

Before we went to Alabama, Mindy had asked if we would want to go to Six Flags over Georgia, located a couple of hours away from Birmingham on the outskirts of Atlanta. We thought that would be fun.

We conquered Goliath!

We spent 6 hours riding all the roller coasters we could! Can you imagine us? grandparents? old foggies? riding the coasters????? The majority of people on the rides were junior highers. But what a fun time for these old geezers! Any time with our daughter whom we don't see nearly as often as we like is time well spent - even screaming at the top of my lungs riding 90 miles at hour in circles and in every which direction!

A trip to visit Mindy

We planned a vacation to go see our daughter, Mindy, in Alabama. We were going to drive through Little Rock, but when we were getting to Tulsa, we decided we were so close to the grandkids that we just had to make a detour! We called Josh and he said he would meet us in Springdale for lunch.
What a joy to have an unexpected lunch with them!! Staci was working (she works 2 days a week) so we missed her. After lunch we took a scenic drive out of Springdale on 412, then south at Huntsville and on 21.


The road followed a creek (some pronounce it "crik" and other "creeeek").



I guess there really is "ozone"!

I don't quite understand this culture of refrigerators, sofas and trash in the front lawn.
Just a beautiful drive!

I have heard that you should NEVER wear socks with sandals. Who says? My feet were cold and I like to wear my Birks in the car for comfort. Who makes up these "rules" anyway? Al says if he wants to wear his polo shirts with checkered shorts and white knee highs with velcro tennies, why can't he? (ha ha) I don't know who the fashion moguls are anyway who determine what people can and can't wear.
There were lots of semis on Interstate 40. I wish we could have grabbed my camera when there was a Walmart and Tyson semi side by side. But the camera was somewhere in the back seat, I was driving and Al couldn't locate it in time. But we knew we were in Arkansas!
Fourteen hours later, we were with Mindy!!! And in time to watch the KU game!