We woke up to the aroma of French toast and came downstairs to find that Betsy had prepared breakfast! She also made us delicious omelets with tomatoes from her garden. Wayne had taken Ben's wheel to his office to true it on his wheel-truing device. I forgot to mention that Wayne has completed 4 Iron Man triathlons and is an avid biker. He is also an engineer who designs large woodworking machines, and he can do wonders with a wobbly wheel!
After breakfast, we packed up and headed out to Current River. Wayne and Betsy launched the boat with incredible ease (we were both very impressed) and we were amazed at what we saw. This river was spring-fed, and could easily be mistaken for the Caribbean ocean. It was so crystal clear and blue/ green- I have never seen a river more beautiful!
We rode upstream for a while to see Blue Spring, one of the many springs that feeds this river. We walked up a short path to a breathtaking sight. A pool of blue water was coming up from the Earth and flowing into the river! The color was incredible, and with the the sunlight hitting the water, we could see deep down into the spring. Neither Ben or I have ever seen anything like this- it is just spectacular! Ben was curious and brave enough to go for a swim in the freezing cold spring water but said it was perfectly refreshing (he had to get out immediately but it was in the upper 90s so he warmed right back up).
We spent the rest of he day floating back down the river, jumping in the water to cool down and then back in the boat for a while. We had lunch and hooked up with Betsy's brother and his family out on their boat for a while.
We had a great time but on the car ride back home, both Ben and I had to fight to stay awake because the sun wiped us out! We had burgers, baked beans, potato salad, and asian slaw for dinner. It was delicious! (I have pretty much given up on my vegetarian ways for the time being.) Betsy and Wayne's oldest son and his wife came over for dessert with their two little girls. Now we are watching Shark Week and will probably go to bed before 9, hoping to actually get up at 5:15 tomorrow. We have 35 miles in the Ozarks so we way to do it early in the morning. I will be in charge of the alarm this time, so hopefully I can make sure we actually get up! Its always hard to get up that early, no matter how much we sleep. Tomorrow is said to be our hardest day for a long time, so we just have to get through it and then we are on easy street into flat Kansas.
Location:Whippet Dr,Ellington,United States
Jen, you and Ben must have some great karma to keep meeting such wonderful folks and having these special days. You definitely made the right decision to spend the day with Wayne and Betsy. Your description of the river and spring was so vivid and beautiful it made me want to get down there and see it for myself (by car). At some point in the distant future you may be having a bad day, but you can just think about days like this that you have enjoyed and it will surely bring a smile to your face.
ReplyDeleteEven I'm jealous of your day.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful day! It brings back some great memories. When I stayed in Missouri for GTECH work, we rented a pontoon boat and set onto the Lake of the Ozarks. After a few of these and a few of those, we were ripping up the lake. It took the boat police to slow us down. A word of warning. If you see the boat police, stop!
ReplyDeleteGood luck climbing tomorrow.