Staycation

Okay, technically it was a mini-vacation since we didn’t stay home but budget cuts sliced a long week in the Bahamas to a weekend in Dahlonega, GA.  We loaded up the family yacht and headed for the mountains and a rental cabin on the banks of the Chestatee River.

Coincidentally, my wife claims, the area around Dahlonega happens to be home to several vineyards and it was the weekend of Wine Festival.  Who knew?  (She did!)  They really do make some great wines in that part of the country so of course we loaded up a few.  ($$)  Hey, discount for a case and you can mix it up?  ($$$)

With a bar back-drop like this the wine must be good! www.threesistersvineyards.com

Blackstock Vineyards. With a view like this you get happy grapes!

A truly unexpected bonus was a local pub concert by Shawn Mullins, unplugged.  ($$$$)  Since this area was also the location of the first US gold rush, the wife bought the proper pan to do a little prospecting and try to pay off her bar tab.  Didn’t even cover the cost of the pan but it was entertaining to say the least.  While she checked for nuggets that all those before her had missed over the last 200 years I practiced maneuvering the canoe by pole.

Poling upstream, or setting, is an extremely efficient means of moving against the current.  It takes surprisingly little force to hold position or even move against the current.  Poling downstream, or snubbing, you use the pole to brake or adjust your position to avoid rocks.  It’s a traditional skill put to good use in water too shallow for a paddle – more here.  Standing in moving water does take balance.  Patience, grasshopper – you must become one with the canoe and the river.  I did bump a few rocks but the hardened filler and added protection of 3 coats of marine enamel proved very resilient.  Only some surface scratches.  She was tired of being restricted to flat water and sitting on the beach.

Good times.