Kayaking on the Yadkin River - North Carolina

My Son and His Kayak Friends

My youngest son is hard to keep up with. He never goes in fast gear, but he is always on the go - slowly and surely. When he was little, I'd be saying, "Hurry up" to him and "Slow down" to the older one at the mall and places like that. We were a family slinky. All trying to stay together - and easier said than done.

I play a lot online, but I don't do it the same way my little-big guy does. I should explain that. He's the baby, but he's about 6 feet tall. He definately the tallest in the family. Must be some recessive genes.

The younger one loves to white water raft which we do on vacations. But, he wasn't satisfied with just the occasional trek. Nope. He got online and read up about kayaks and then found a used one at a reasonable price at Craig's List. Then, we found a group of kayakers in our area and got in touch. The next think I knew he was telling me that he had plans to go kayaking with his new water buddies.

Today was the kid's second kayak trip with HRL Paddlers. He had a great time as he did the last time. Getting outdoors makes him very happy.

I enjoy water sports, and I'm thinking I need to get a kayak too. The HRL group does have some extras for newbies. That's really great. Maybe I can borrow one to start with and then get a second one. I need to figure out if two will fit on top of the truck though.

*Note - The photo was taken by one of my son's kayak friends. The guys were goofing off, and it's clear they were having a blast.

Red Dirt Stew

Wild Hair Day - A Good One to Start a New Blog

I come from a long line of storytellers and writers - and some both. It only seems natural that I begin to capture our moments here online.

I already host a website called Yes You Can Grill and the Barbeque Master blog. But I really do more than eat - cross my heart and buy the next size up in jeans.

My first thought was to call this "catch all" spot of day-to-day ramblings - Cornbread Zoo. My older son said that we are pretty civilized, so I shifted to Red Dirt Stew.

Trust me. The dirt here is red. You roll around in it and try to wash it out, and you will know all you need to know about red dirt. It's thick with clay and hard to work when wet. When red dirt gets dry, then it cracks, whips around in the wind and makes a general mess of everything.

The piedmont of North Carolina is as good a place to live as any I suppose. The weather is generally mild. We're a couple of hours from the mountains and couple more to the beach.

The town is small, and my Mom always told me not to say anything if I couldn't say anything nice. I guess that sums that up.

This is definately a Southern blog and like our stews, you're likely to find anything leftover when I'm wrung dry from working and writing on food and cooking.