Swimming Hole

#2 had been looking forward to a trip in the "holler" ever since he went last year with his grandfather.

 Last year, I left WV after camp to attend Envirothon School for coaches. I left the kids in WV with our parents. One night #1 went to stay with Hubby's parents, but #2 wasn't ready to leave the farm. So my dad took #2 and a bunch of male cousins to a childhood swimming hole. They fished and swam, cooked over a fire, and slept in a hay trailer. It was the best thing he had ever done, and he was sure that we all needed to be a part of it this year.

 His mother- that would be ME- did not believe that this would be the best thing to ever happen to her, so she suggested we go for the day, but return at night to a bed and flush toilet. The girls in attendance were in agreement with me, so #2 acquiesced. We rode a hay wagon for several miles on the main road. The dog rode along with us, and the kids were having a great time.

 When we got to the dirt and rock road into the "holler" there was a large tree felled across the road. The tractor could go no farther. My father said it was about a mile walk, and we decided we could handle that. Three of us chose to follow the road, the rest of the kids chose to follow the stream bed. It took them a lot longer to get there, since water doesn't take as direct a route as a road usually does.

 Another reason for the delay was this snake. The kids came across a snake, just a harmless garter snake, but a couple of the kids refused to go any farther until it was killed. This guy (Best Buddy) killed the snake with a rock, and then he brought it on to the swimming hole so he and my dad could skin it. He took the skin home, and it is now nailed and stretched in his garage. Best Buddy has a cool mother too.

As it turned out, we wouldn't have been able to stay at the swimming hole all night anyway. A storm came along and broke up our party. That of course added to the adventure. We had to race back in thunder and lightning, my mom came to rescue us from the hay wagon by offering a ride in my van, and a dog chase ensued for the nervous dog afraid of storms AND my van. It was a great day at the swimmin' hole.