Tales From the 2023 Labor Day Escape

It has become somewhat of an annual tradition to make the run up to the Smokies for Labor Day weekend. It's a pilgrimage I've historically taken alone. It's not that I don't want to spend time with my family, but they understand I need some "alone time" every now and then to just recalibrate my head. I appreciate that tremendously. I don't even reach out to fishing friends that are somewhat local in the area. It's time I get to enjoy doing things on my own terms.

The dynamic for this Labor Day weekend changed a bit, as my wife had to leave town for a few weeks. Rather than a solo Smokies trip, my daughter Lilly decided to come along, surprisingly not against her will. See, Lilly didn't grow up to share my interest in fishing as I had hoped. Now 17, theatre and arts are her passions, which I support wholeheartedly. But the great outdoors... well, let's just say she can handle it in doses. 

While camping, bugs, and lack of Wi-Fi are non-starters, Lilly has enjoyed our prior trips to other National Parks over the years. She does seem enjoy being around water and wildlife, (and expressed an interest in some of the quirkier things that the Smokies had to offer). Oh, and just like me, she welcomed a chance to escape the hellfire temperatures of Florida for a few days.

The Friday Drive

I took Lilly out of school around lunchtime (she had a test she wanted to take) and we started the 8ish hour drive up to our airbnb in Bryson City, North Carolina. I reserved a tiny house cabin for us that literally had the Tuckasegee River in its "backyard." It seemed to be the perfect spot for our weekend base camp, and just the right amount of room for the two of us.

The drive through Georgia was generally uneventful, but once we hit South Carolina... Ugh. There were just accidents galore. Guess that's bound to happen on a holday weekend. With the concept of making "good time" and arriving before dark out the window, we just stopped at an exit, ate an early dinner, and waited for the cars to clear out. 

Eventually we got into North Carolina finding smooth sailing for a bit, but we did hit more traffic the closer we got to the Smokies. More fender benders, and people gawking at them slowed us down, but we finally got to the cabin around 10PM. Just enough time to settle in for the night, we had a few big days in front of us!

Saturday's Plans

Being a teenager, Lilly is one of those kids that will sleep until 2 in the afternoon if you let her. Taking advantage of that, we agreed the night before that I'd go out early, spend the morning fishing, and come back to the cabin around 1PM where we could go into town and get lunch. After that, I was going to take her over to the National Park for some light sightseeing and then end the day by heading over to the Seven Clans Rodeo in Cherokee (one of the aforementioned quirky things to do in the Smokies), so the day was pretty well laid out.

Fishing... and Much, Much More!

When I rolled up to the trailhead, it was around 7:30am and I was one of only 2 or 3 cars there. It's a pretty prominent trailhead, right along Newfound Gap Road. I geared up and went fishing.

The fishing was great. Caught a trout on like my 3rd cast, and it continued pretty steadily for the next 4 or so hours. A bunch of rainbows and a brown trout or two all came to hand. Beautiful little fish and gorgeous weather. The morning to this point was perfect.

When I arrived back to my car I immediately went to the tailgate to take off my wading boots and stow my fishing gear. Nothing seemed odd or out of place at all. However, once that task was completed, I walked toward the driver's side door and oh...crap... somebody smashed out the passenger door window.

At that point, a lot of things run through your mind. First is "What the fuck?"...  Second is "Did they take anything?"  Third is "Can I even get this fixed over Labor Day weekend - I'm 8 hours from home?"  Fourth is "What the fuck?"

Fortuntately, the only thing that was taken was a shopping bag of random supplies that was sitting right beneath the broken window. This was clearly a quick smash & grab. Nothing in the front seats and nothing in the back cargo space were touched. I sort of wondered if it was possibly a bear, but the job was too clean. No smudges on the window frame or door, no dirt or debris on the inside.

And as I learned once I got back to the tiny house and made some phone calls, no, it was not getting fixed this weekend.

Time to Recalibrate Plans

When I got back to the cabin, woke the still slumbering Lilly and told her what happened, she immediately said "What the fuck?" (Yes, she is daddy's daughter) and thought it would be awesome to take pictures for her Instagram. LOL.

Anyway, lunch plans got pushed back a bit as I had to run into town and get some plastic sheeting and duct tape to MacGyver a temporary fix. Shout out to the folks at Elder's Ace Hardware for hooking me up with the right supplies.

The Rest of the Day

I'll be honest, the rest of the day went by pretty fast. I had one half of my mind on keeping Lilly entertained... while the other half was just drained from the morning's follies. A nice conversation over a late lunch at Jimmy Mac's (a BLT for me and chicken tenders for the kid), kind of brought the stress levels back down to Earth.

After that, we actually were able to do everything we said we would... First a quick spin through the park near the Oconoluftee Visitor's Center. We even got to see some elk!

Then on to an evening of rodeo. I go to this every year, almost as much for the people-watching as the cowboy activites, and it did not disappoint. Lilly was particularly fond of the mutton-busting, which for those not in the know are little kids riding sheep as if they were bulls. Good stuff.

Sunday's Train Ride

Being on the tired side from everything that was Saturday, we both decided to sleep in a bit on Sunday morning. I just sort of lounged on the back deck of the cabin and enjoyed the sights of the river. It was a bit overcast, foggy, and on the cool side. It was glorious.

That afternoon we took the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad for a scenic ride along the river from Bryson City to Dillsboro and back. It was yet another quirky thing Lilly was looking forward to. 

By that point the fog had burned off, the sun was out, and the train ride was pretty fun for both of us. We sat in one of those open air cars with the seats facing the windows and got to see people down on the river in rafts and kayaks, all sorts of scenery, and even went through a tunnel. We enjoyed our late lunch/early dinner at the R&R Tavern in Dillsboro as well.

Chasing Waterfalls

Once back in Bryson City, Lilly & I decided we'd head over to Deep Creek and look at some of the waterfalls. Two of the three waterfalls are really close to the trailhead, so out of respect to Lilly's less than tolerance for hiking, it was a pretty easy in and out. 

Along our hike we saw posted signs for preserving the Smoky Madtom's river habitat, which sparked a conversation about ocean oddities. If you couldn't tell, Lilly takes interest in some of the more uncommon things in life. While she probably couldn't tell the difference between a rainbow and brown trout, she was quick to tell me about several weird looking sea creatures she wanted to create an art project around, such as the barreleye fish, which happens to have a transparent head. 

She seemed to have a good time (or at least humored her Dad for an hour and a half), which was a nice way to more or less end our activities this trip.

A welcomed evening back on the deck with an RC Cola and some Goldfish was a great way to unwind...

Mondays are for Travels

Labor Day itself was without much labor. We packed up the SUV and drove home, leaving early to make sure we got home in time to have a few hours of decompression before the real world of our work & school weeks started the next day. I will say that we were far more fortunate in the traffic department on the drive home, and that the plastic tarp and duct tape patch job held up all eight hours. Big win!

Epilogue

I'm really happy the weekend went like it did. And by that I mean that I'm so happy I didn't go alone this year. It was great to have some legitimate father/daughter time alone with Lilly. I mean she's a high school senior... she's growing up. And while she's not one of those kids who can't stand being around their parents, memory making opporutnities like this are rapidly getting fewer and far between. 

Looking back ten years from now the broken window will no longer be an inconvenience, but something to laugh about. And we'll certainly remember the tiny house... the river... the elk... the rodeo... the train... and the waterfalls. And maybe even the Smoky Madtoms.

A Summer 2022 Update

I thought it would be appropriate to give what amounts to and end of summer update. The last post written was about an early June trip to the Driftless, and a few things have happened since then.

Nothing huge, and honestly, not much (if any) fishing, but stuff worth chronicling nonetheless, if only for future personal reference. (When you have a blog as old as this one, it's fun to revisit posts of years past from time to time).

We had steel drums at summer work happy hour... that was fun!

New York City

We didn't really have a "big" summer vacation as a family this year. That said, we did spend a long weekend in New York City right before the 4th of July. Now I'm not a big fan of NYC, I'd prefer to retreat to the mountains as opposed to the city any day, but with Broadway re-opening after being largely closed due to the pandemic, we thought it would be a good opportunity to go see some shows.  

See, Lilly is really (and I mean really) into theater (theatre?) and wants to pursue theater design in college in a few years. She's obsessed with set & costume design, props, and puppetry, and is an encyclopedia of theater knowledge, just like an avid angler would be with fly patterns.

In all, it was a fun trip, although it was really, really hot outside. Luckily most of our activities were indoors. I didn't go to all the shows that Lilly & K.C. attended (I did see "Into the Woods") but while they were occupied I wandered around Manhattan eating ever tasty thing I encountered. They just don't have food in Jacksonville like the kind you can find in Northeast.

Lilly & I did have a little father/daughter time at the American Museum of Natural History while K.C. was seeing Moulin Rouge solo. So I got to enjoy a little bit of "outdoors" stuff, even though most of it was taxidermy. I love spending time with Lilly, especially now that she's older (she's so intelligent and has a very unique mind). Lilly seemed to enjoy herself too. She loves all animals, although I'm sure she would have preferred ones that were alive.

A Date with Rona

Well the one unexpected souvenir I took back from our trip to NYC was a bout with coronavirus. I had gone the whole two years or so without getting it, but I started feeling symptoms that put me on the shelf for about a week. It wasn't too bad (I've been vaccinated), but nobody likes to deal with aches, fever, and congestion.

K.C. got it too, and it seemed to hit her a little harder than me, but interestingly Lilly seemed to dodge it. She had it during the last school year so perhaps she had some fresher antibodies. Who knows... either way, the virus' visit to our house, and its lingering effects, kind of limited most activities through mid to late July. 

Tenkara Angler Stuff

While I haven't really fished much (other than in the neighborhood), we have been busy over at Tenkara Angler. We re-launched our "Level Line Podcast" at the end of June and spent some time talking to Bill, Amanda, & Nate about a recent tenkara event they participated in up in New Hampshire. It was a fun conversation and we're looking forward to doing more of these.

We also published a few articles, the most popular being the "Big Fish Tenkara Rod Guide" which lists many of the tenkara & fixed line rods available to chase fish way bigger than the ones I catch. We also posted a video from 2016 that Jason Sparks dug up of a Tom Sadler tenkara demonstration. That one was fun to watch, it was like going in a time machine! I sure miss those days.

SCAD

Remember how I mentioned Lilly's love for theater? Well, she got to spend time at Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) at the end of July pursuing her passion. It was her first (I guess) unofficial college visit, and one she earned herself by winning a scholarship to attend the week-long seminar. She had two workshops, one in fashion design and the other in production design (costumes & sets).

It was weird dropping her off and helping her set up her dorm room for the week. I'm not sure I'm ready to do that for real in two years. I'm happy to report the little bohemian inside her thrived in the classes, I never heard her quite so talkative, exited, and expressive giving us the debrief after we went to pick her up.

The Nephews

I have two rad little nephews, and they and their equally rad parents (K.C.'s brother and his wife) came to visit us this past week for a few days. The boys can be a handful, but it's fun to have little kids running around the house again... cartoons on TV... and toys scattered all over the place. Especially when those kids are not yours.

Labor Day Weekend Smokies?

Which kind of brings me to present day. Lilly actually goes back to school this week, Junior year of high school! So in effect, our summer is over. (Although somebody needs to tell Mother Nature that, it's been 98 degrees here every day for like ever).

I am going to try to sneak up to the mountains one more time before the NFL season starts and my weekends get consumed by work. I'll most likely make the run up to Cherokee that I've done each of the past two years (2020, 2021)... but who knows, maybe North Georgia will be more manageable. I definitely will need to get away somewhere, a trout streams have been running through my head since I left Wisconsin.

August Update - Finally With Fishing Too!!!

I posted some of this over the weekend on Facebook. So if we're friends there, you've already seen it. I won't be offended if you leave now. That being said...

I didn't do a follow up post from our mini family getaway to north Georgia the other week. By 2020 standards, it was amazing. For the most part we just continued to social distance, simply in a new location. The biggest change, besides the potential for an evening bear visit to our trash can, was much cooler temperatures. 80s during the day, 50s at night. Glorious. As was the view off the back porch.

We weren't in a cabin, but we were definitely staying a bit off the beaten path. And by that I mean we were an hour's drive from the closest Target. (Sorry Dollar General, you're no substitution in K.C.'s eyes). I got to sneak out for two days and fly fish for rainbow trout in the mountains. Heavenly. 

While I did that, the ladies chilled at the house and avoided creepy crawlies. They were none too fond of the spiders found in the various nooks and crannies of the house. Can't say I blame them, but no spider would stop K.C. from binging Netflix: Indian Matchmaking. (BTW - is it "bingeing" or "binging," I've seen both used...)

A week or so removed from that and now safely(?) back in Florida, Lilly doesn't seem to be all that thrilled to be returning to school (albeit virtually) on Monday. It's her first week of high school as an incoming 9th grader, so she and K.C. have been spending a lot of time setting up our dining room to be her classroom/dedicated workstation. Work in progress...

We were told that my office would also be working remotely through the end of the year, so I picked up one of those headsets for conference calls. I guess so I can still be heard when I speak quietly, but really so I don't have to subject my family to constantly overhearing them anymore. And with the NFL football season here I'm going to have A LOT more of them. Can't interrupt Lilly's learning with me growling at vendors for not delivering the Patrick Mahomes jerseys on time. Priorities. 

If you didn't notice, I've also taken to wearing headbands. At first it was a joke because my friends at work were making fun of my long(er) hair, especially on the days I don't feel like combing it... which is pretty much everyday. I wore a headband on Friday to get a rise out of them on one of those aforementioned conference calls, but (like everything else in 2020) it was canceled. In addition to making my head resemble a mushroom. I think the forehead compression helps my brain retain whatever intelligence it has left after the last 8 months of the year.

Anyway, hope everyone is doing well out there, wearing masks, washing hands, and all that good stuff. If you have kids, I hope the new school year or day care situation isn't too scary for you. And if you're a teacher going into the scholastic petri dish each day - I cannot respect and thank you enough for what you're doing. I honestly can't imagine, especially (but not limited to) folks considered "high risk." ❤️

I'm confident we'll figure this thing out eventually. Positive thoughts go a long way!