Not bad for a Monday...

Pretty nice Memorial Day weekend - did a beautiful section of the Dan River today, which was very relaxing except for the stretch I decide to swim because it was so hot. Not that it was hard to swim - it's just that fecal coliform bacteria doesn't go well with the steaks we were planning for dinner. No problem, just don't put your head under.

One way to avoid such issues is to forego nature altogether, and on Saturday we drove down to Charlotte to see just how that's done. About a year ago the U.S. National Whitewater Center opened up there, and it's really quite a marvel of engineering - the largest man-made whitewater river in the world, apparently.


They were booked up so we didn't get on, but we'll probably go back to take some kayaking lessons. Not that we aren't fearless and extreme at all times, but there's something about learning how to whitewater kayak at a place where the lifeguard can hit a button and turn off the rapids in an emergency that seems valuable.