Blog

It was a typically sunny, hot day on Lake Jocassee. As the crew (two families, one white, one black) boarded, they made it clear that swimming was everyone’s objective. It was Father’s Day, but no baseball or napping for the dads responsible for their kids’ safety. While swimming was the primary goal, it seemed prudent to float into Laurel Fork Falls, and even the hard-core swimmers were taken aback by the roaring spectacle. Then to Family Rock for swimming and jumping, fathers and kids together. The age difference between the two was blurred until they were all kids. We were off again to Mill Creek (H Falls) where we tied up to a tree limb and enjoyed more swimming. Just two families, now joined in nature and open to hearing about wildlife, history, and how we impact them. On the way back both dads got their naps and the oldest daughters from each family were engaged in an animated conversation on topics only understood by eleven-year-old girls. The lake, the falls, and the rainforest all conspired to bring peace and friendship to people who started out as strangers only hours before, but became friends. Nature (and a pontoon boat) always brings people together and maybe shines a little light into our sometimes too dark world. ~Geary Hughes, JLT Guide