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Kayaking @ Eurharlee (Atlanta, GA, USA)

September 3, 2022 /

We had a blast in Atlanta visiting our cousins!! You might know Atlanta as the home of the Braves or the host city of the ’96 Olympic games, but we go there for hugs, game night, & a walk down memory lane.

Meet the Cousin Crew

Hang out with them for 5 minutes and you’ll know them! They are open books, genuine, insightful, grounded, and have the best wit around.

We had 2 priorities for the weekend.

Priority # 1 - Have Fun Together

We bribed the weather to hold and took off down the Euharlee Creek for a great day kayaking. It was a relaxing drive there – through cute towns, open fields, & near a major power station with towers you could see for miles away.

 

Euharlee is about an hour northwest of Atlanta. According to the Euharlee site, the town is named for the Euharlee creek, which is derived for the Cherokee name Eufaula – “she laughs as she runs”. That seems very appropriate for our girls!

 

Ask the crew at Euharlee Creek Outfitters for the history of the area before you start your trip. There are several fish weirs and a spring along the paddle trail that were used by the indigenous peoples. The crew will be excited to elaborate on each of these structures and will give you an idea of landmarks to watch for so you can see these pieces of history during your trip.

 

Once we arrived and selected our watercraft – have your pick of canoes, single or tandem kayaks, or tubes – and length of trip – 4, 6, and 10 miles, it’s a 2-minute van ride to the bank. It took us maybe 5 minutes to drag our kayaks to the river, snap our life jackets, pose for pictures, & cast off.

From there we raced each other, saw the wildlife, and even picked up a butterfly hitchhiker.

About 2/3 of the way to our destination, we found an island & took a break to play and cool off.

If you’re in the Atlanta area during the summer months, come support this local business – they have a great crew and clean, well-kept kayaks. Bring your sunscreen, adventure sandals, water bottles, snacks/picnic lunch in a dry bag, and friends! Positively perfect for a nature loving, competitive, playful group.

 

Pro Tip: The owner says they’re usually sold out by 12noon on busy days – so get there early if it’s a Saturday or holiday.

https://www.euharleecreekoutfitters.com/our-floats

Priority #2 - Share the Love & Connect

The H family knows how to love big! We soaked up all the quality time. Take good food around a 3rd generation family dining table and generously sprinkle in board games. Garnish with humor, embarrassing stories, and thought-provoking questions. Voila, we’re making memories.

 

They are avid adventurers themselves. So, we got lots of insider tips & they asked us lots of questions. Including one of the best we’ve had yet –

Fill in the blank:

 Your trip will be a success if _____

What a beautiful question that leads us to put a laser pointer on our core values. We all answered on the spot and promised to dig deeper in time.

Our answers –

DJ – If we do it. If we conquer our fears and anxieties & go for it.

Martha – If I get out of my own way & truly experience it.

Addie – If I get to pet a kangaroo.

Kate – If we have fun and like the new places we visit.

As I reflect on our answers, I see how far we’ve leaned into this journey already. A few years ago, I feel certain I would have given you a ten-point outline with clearly articulate SMART goals. Probably a document that looked more like a business plan than a life dream. Now, I’m dishing out hippie answers. AND…I mean it.

My biggest challenge has always been to find rest in simply being – being present, being myself, being flexible.

I know I’m in for a roller coaster. I like excel spreadsheets, routines, food labels I recognize and tap water I can drink. I’m very fond of dishwashers, washing machines, ice makers, and central air. But, that ain’t really what we’re headed towards, y’all! I’m nervous about the discomforts and inconveniences ahead & yet, I know in my soul those experiences will be my greatest teachers. I’ll never learn flexibility in comfort or authenticity surrounded by ease.   

We definitely want to see and experience all the things. We still have excel spreadsheets & buckets list. But our true drive isn’t to see every continent (although, I’m all for it). The driving force is to simply grow through this experience. So, it will be a success if we come back calmer, kinder, braver, more educated, more empathic, more accepting, and more authentic humans.

Bonus points for animal encounters!

I hope we grow in ways

we can’t imagine right now.

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