The CFC canoe trip was this weekend, and--wow!--it was awesome!! I don't even know where to begin...

Well, we weren't canoeing until Sunday, so once we got there Saturday afternoon, Sarah, Natalie, Kristin, and me went on a tour of Marengo Cave. It was pretty sweet. Kristin almost took out a row of elderly people on the way down though; that was pretty funny. lol. After that, we drove to a place & watched some people play sand volleyball {I'm not very good at it, so I didn't attempt it}. We were going to go swimming in the river when the game was over & while we waited Sarah, Natalie, & I played on a swing set & teeter totter. The teeter totter was pretty funny because Natalie & I were partners & she started screaming "Too high! You're going too high!" I thought it was funny, so I kept doing it, but then Natalie got off...and I went Ker-Plunk! onto the ground!! lol ~ Good times! I luv u Nat! We eventually did leave the blistering heat to enter the cool water of Blue River...and it was COLD. But, I got use to it. A hand full of us decided to swim to the other side where there was a small shore (myself included). I think I swim best on my back, and I was making good time until I hit the middle of it where the current is & started getting tired. (Did I mention that the spot we were swimming in was on the top edge of a waterfall?? Yeah...) I made it okay without a problem ~kept kickin'~ but once I got to the other side, I had no energy to swim back! The muscles in my legs felt like they were burning!! But, we were able to find a place to sit that was right on the waterfall without getting carried away. Us girls rested while we watched Ross and Keith try to push fallen trees over the edge~Ross almost went in with one! lol. Thankfully though, we were able to walk through the woods, up a small hill, and over the bridge back to the group so that we didn't have to swim back. Afterwards, we just went back to the cabin at Marengo & hung out for awhile.

I was awoken at 6 a.m. by Loud thunder & pouring rain. We had to be packed up & at the canoe place by 9, so I wasn't going to get up until 7. However, Natalie & I both really needed to go to the bathroom, so we decided to pack up our shower stuff & make our way there. For awhile, no one was sure if we would still be able to canoe or not due to the weather, but, thankfully, it cleared up. Sarah & I were paddling partners & after driving to our destination, we climbed in the canoe, me in front & her in back, and got ready for our 7 mile trek down stream. I was all about going full steam ahead until we got so far ahead of everyone else that we decided to bump into the bank a few times to slow down & wait for the others to catch up. The guys tied all their canoes together & floated downstream while us girls toughed it out...and paddled away from the guys as they attempted to tip everyone over! All kinds of creatures were spotted along the river too, including: a mama duck & her ducklings, snapping turtles, a cow, and water moccasins. Oh nature...you've gotta love it!

There was a spot on the river that the guys wanted to stop at because some of them that had been before had discovered this cave off shore that apparently contained some sort of pagan shrine. Once we got there, we pulled the canoes up on the hilly bank & made the nearly vertical climb upward. And I have to give a tremendous thumbs up to Andy Cravens and Andy Jobe for their gentleman-ness on this whole part of the excursion too ~ they were wonderful about helping the girls! =) But anyway, after the vertical climb up, we tromped through poison ivy, poison oak, thistles, & then had a vertical climb down. We eventually got there though, and it was so worth it! From a distance, you just see this gigantic hole (I'm talking a few stories tall). We all decided that it had to be some sort of abandoned mine; Cravens assumed limestone had been mined there at one time. Through every part that we ventured through the ceiling was just as high, but even with the few flashlights that the guys had, I couldn't hardly see the people a couple feet in front of me. It was really deep and branched off in several directions; we discovered that it had several entrances too. The guys showed us the "pagan shrine" which consisted of rocks set up in circles & wiccan symbols drawn on the walls. I can't believe people were actually wasted their time doing that. The group ended up splitting up because most people didn't want to venture too far in, so Ross, Cravens, Jobe, Ann, and myself explored. There were mainly just large rooms branching off of each other & occasionally we had to trek through some water that got knee-deep, but it was truly an adventure. The boys found a rock that had "Metallica" spray-painted on it & we decided that that was the place we had to have a group picture. When we went back to the canoes, part of our party had left us, so we divided up into canoes & went on up the river. But, before we found the rest of the group, we found a rope attached to a tree that was bent out over the river which had boards nailed into it to use as a ladder. I had to try it. I've always wanted to. But, once I got up there, I got really nervous. Everyone in the canoes below counted to 3 & I jumped....and landed flat on my face. Yes, I did a belly flop into the water; I'm sure it wasn't pretty! lol. Getting back into my canoe was an adventure in itself, but I made it. I had to ride back with someone else b/c Sarah had left me while I was still in the cave, & when we got to the place where we were suppose to stop canoeing, me & my buddy both stood up. He got out fine, but then he started pulling the canoe onshore without realizing I was standing up in it. I fell to the floor on my butt & sort of got stuck. I started laughing and told him to wait b/c I was still in, but he didn't hear me & kept pulling the canoe & almost tumped me out! Lol ~ it was fun.

Obviously the whole trip had a lot of great moments; it's hard to say what was my favorite. I just can't wait 'til next year!!

Man, I sooo want a tambourine now!!

Tonight was so much fun! I got to have dinner & look around at the Vineyard & the mall with my friend Natalie. We were going to go play some putt-putt at Walther’s, but we decided to do it another night instead. No matter; it was still loads of fun.

So how does the tambourine fit into this?

Natalie just so happens to be a Hanson fan which meant that I had to share all those unreleased songs with her! Which meant that I was listening to them on my way home, and hence...

I now want a tambourine!

Tonight was so much fun! Sarah & I went down to Penny Lane & enjoyed some coffee while listening to a local band play. We didn’t catch their name, but their music was so intriguing. There wasn’t a whole lot of vocals in it, but I found myself getting so caught up in the instrumental talent that I couldn’t believe I had been there for 2 hours. We’ve definitely found our new favorite thing to do on the weekends.

It all started when Sarah & I decided to go to Starbucks & Wired last night. While at Starbucks, we decided that it would be cool to go coffeehouse hopping sometime, which led us to go ahead and visit Wired. There was an amazing band playing there that we got to listen to, Lost Anthem, but by the time we finished our coffee, we figured there was no point in paying to go down & watch them b/c their set would probably be over soon. That’s when we decided to keep a check on the Wired schedule so we could go check them out again sometime, and soon after, the idea of visiting Penny Lane was manifested. And hence, that brings me to where am now ~ entranced by the local Evansville talent & excited at the new thing to do on the weekends.

But the sad thing is, a lot of local/independent artists in Evansville & everywhere else are never going to get the recognition that they deserve b/c of what radio & major record labels have become. All that is played on hit radio stations anymore is rap and hip hop that just talks about sex, drugs, and getting drunk or high. I'm sorry, but most of that junk all sounds the same to me & the lyrics just aren't appealing at all. And record labels ~ I don't think they even care about talent; it's all about $$$. I really enjoy the way Taylor Hanson sums it all up in a little video that I have on my myspace:

"Music is going down. People aren't going to concerts like they use to, people aren't buying records like they use to, and why? Because it sucks! You need to call your radio stations, call MTV, and say this is what matters right now; I'm not going to be defined by bull^*$# , I'm going to be defined by stuff that gets me going!"

Preach it, Tay!

I know coffeehouses aren’t for everyone; I’m not saying that. It’s just one way to be able to get out there & here some different talent. It just seems like there are so many people that say they love & listen to music, but really just have ears gone numb to the top 40 countdown. I’m just saying....are you Really listening??

Quote of the day: “She looks like a giraffe!” ~ If you’ve ever seen a girl that does, then you understand.