Dale Hollow Lake

The boys and I had such a fabulous time at the lake in Tennessee. We left here Sunday morning after sending Brooklyn to Dayton with Grandpa, and the five hour drive was pretty uneventful. Thanks to a combination of GPS and written directions, there were no hiccups in the drive. We found our campsite, and quickly identified the group that we would be spending all our time with.

The first night there was a downpour. The torrential rains continued for most of the night, and by morning everything inside our tent was damp. The humidity and heat were extremely high, and between those factors and the constant drip inside the tent, sleep was hard to come by. By morning, as I laid everything we brought out to dry, I seriously considered packing up and driving home.

Finally, by late afternoon, it appeared as though most of our belongings would recover, and the pontoon boat was finally ready to run. Within the first few moments on the lake, with the wind running through our hair and the smiles of my children, my earlier plans to abandon the camping trip were forgotten.

The kids each took a turn driving the pontoon boat.

The other adults on this trip were kind and helpful, and the boys thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them.

Miss Karen was our resident boating expert, having attended this bago in the past, and let each one of the boys take a turn steering.

By the third day, the speedboat was finally ready to run. The first trip out held (from left) Lois, Dave, Peggy, myself, and three of the youngest kids--mine included.

After a quick lesson from Miss Karen on the rules of boating, and an overview of tubing hand signals, we were ready to go.

One of the more experienced kids rode the tube first to show the kids how to do it, and then Jeremy took his turn. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of Kadon riding the tube, or myself. My camera spent most of the time either on shore or on the pontoon boat, so pictures of our water activities were few and far between. As these activities constituted most of our trip, there aren't very many photos.

One of the nights we were there, we all walked to the Sunset Marina Restaurant. Ray, the head camping goober, was in charge of this shindig. The speedboat was owned by him, and he did all the coordinating prior to the trip. He is somebody that I met in Florida, and it was good to reconnect with him and get to know him a little bit better. It was also good to introduce my kids to Raybob. They really enjoyed hassling him, and he handled it like a pro.

By this point in the trip, the kids were exhausted. Every night was a late night, and every morning we were up with the birds. Combine a basic lack of sleep with spending every day in the sun and water, and I'm actually pleased that the kids held up as well as they did. There were very few tantrums, and a minimum of whining all things considered. In fact, at least two nights while we were there, Kadon asked to go to bed. They slept so good when we got home!

Some of my fellow widows: Peggy, Karen, and Lois. I enjoyed, as always, getting to know them, and the sharing of stories. They are all farther out than me by quite a bit, and their experience is invaluable.

Diana and her two children became great friends to us. After the first night when everything in our tent got soaked, they insisted that the kids and I squeeze into their pop-up trailer. We were so grateful for the dry beds and air conditioning that we ended up sleeping there for the rest of the trip.

This night we didn't even make it to the restaurant until 7:30, so my kids were both starving AND exhausted.

From the top of the double-decker pontoon boat, this slide went into the water. After some initial hesitation, Jeremy happily spent several days sliding down it. No matter what incentive I offered, though, Kadon refused to consider a trip down the slide. Maybe next year, I suppose.

As always, I had such a wonderful time. It was an incredibly liberating thing to pack all our camping supplies into the car, drive five hours to a place I have never been, and camp--mainly with people I had never met. We got the tent set up, we went boating, we had a fabulous time. So many times since I have been widowed, I have learned that I am capable of more than I think I am. Usually this ability manifests in some sort of household task, ability at school, or general emotional competence. Sometimes, I get lucky. Sometimes, that ability is manifest in something exciting, new, and different. I'm so grateful I got to give my children this experience. I'm sure it's something that they'll never forget, and I can't wait for next year!