October, Part I

I know . . . it's December. And I'm posting about October. It's embarrassing to think that I've managed to get this far behind. The truth is I've been struggling with reasonable life management this semester - time management, monetary management . . . I'm losing control of my life. (lol - it's not that serious.)

Hancock, MD

Anyway, the first post from October is about Senior Survival. As a Senior Class Sponsor this year, I'm part responsible for 26 young people. Since we're a smaller private academy, we get to do cool things like take a class trip or have field trips that are more intimate and less crazy. Something they do every year is this thing called Senior Survival. It's essentially a weekend of "roughing it" and allowing for class bonding. One of the other sponsors (there are three of us total) decided it would be nice to bike ~75 miles of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal that follows the Potomac River. We started at McCoy's Ferry in MD and stopped at Spring Gap, MD. A small group of three continued on to the beginning in Cumberland.

Hancock, MD

I, however, did not bike. The other sponsor ended up having a serious form of the flu, and just couldn't make it on the trip. His job was to drive a chase vehicle with everyone's crap in it (food, sleeping stuff, etc.), and when I say chase vehicle, I mean a mini-bus. I had never driven this vehicle, and it always daunted me when I thought about driving it, but alas. It became my job. Stupid me didn't pack a book or homework because it happened all kind of last-minute, and cell phone service was rough, but it ended up being a good trip.

If ever you want to plan a biking trip along the C&O Canal, October is definitely a wonderful time to do it. It's just getting chilly and the leaves have started to change. The scenery that I did see was beautiful! But avoiding the sore rump was also a pleasant positive of getting to drive the bus. Always check with your local National Park Service for advisories, tips, and helpful information to stay safe. And, if biking, always have someone chasing you in a vehicle with medical and biking supplies in case something happens. Someone should always know where you'll be!

I hope your holiday season is going well! Thanksgiving for me kicked off a wonderful start, and so far, the season has been wonderfully paced - not too fast, and certainly never too slow. Happy Adventuring! xoxo

The seniors that survived!