Western North Carolina Vacations

Sunday, September 7th was my fourth rafting trip with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Western North Carolina.  Donated services by Blue Heron Whitewater, along with a grant from Big Brothers Big Sisters (http://www.bbbswnc.org) allowed us to take thirteen pairs of “Bigs” and “Littles” down Section 9 of the French Broad River.  For the fourth year in a row, this has been one of my favorite trips of the season, so I’m going to take a minute to list off my top three reasons why:
1)    Local Kids.  Don’t get me wrong, I love going rafting with visitors to the area and introducing them to the beauty of the Smoky's, but we get to do that all the time.  Introducing local kids to the natural fun and beauty in their own backyards is a far more rare experience.  
2)    The “Bigs.” The energy and attitude that the adult volunteers for the Big Brothers Big Sisters program has impressed me since my first trip with the group.  They are happy to be there, happy to be with these kids, and you can really see and feel how that makes a difference in the way the kids behave. There is so much positivity.
3)    The “Littles.” On Sunday’s trip, we had about 26 folks rafting, and about 10 of them were in duckies at any given time.  Before we got to Barnard Ledge (the first rapid on the Section 9 trip), Cosy, one of the Littles, announced with a shriek that she was petrified of rocks and did not want to try out a duckie after all.  She was moments away from switching out when she had a brief change of heart and decided to just give Barnard ledge a shot before switching into a raft.  Cosy ran the ledge cleanly, and though she continued to shriek every time she floated into a rock, we didn’t hear another word about switching out of the duck for the entire rest of the 5 mile stretch.
Thanks for joining us again Big Brothers Big Sisters, and we’re looking forward to next year!