sweet home, alabama

today was great! i went on a walk/jog with connor. it was beautiful, smelled like spring and reminded me of everything warm and wonderful! i thought about florida coming up and was so excited. i thought about summertime. going on the pontoon at my parents' house. or 'toonin' (that's for you che-baby!).

and then i thought about last summer. buckle up, this is a wild ride.

last summer was full of fun and excitement. first, ava was born. yeah! we loved it. then my parents had their 25th wedding anniversary party and renewed their wedding vows. it was beautiful and we all had such a great time. we dressed up and took pictures by the river. but just before that.....

the moment had finally come. the one he had worked so hard for. the one that had eluded him so many times before.

the race.

not just any race. THE RACE.

the 58th annual ausable river canoe marathon. the BIG ONE.

as a small boy, my father used to run the banks of the ausable. every july he would watch with baited breath as the canoers would paddle past the cabin.
once, he had a close encounter with a team.
as they portaged the dam the pair could barely make it across to the other side of the river. but their determination held out. "can you make it?" one paddler asked as his partner puked his guts out.
this was a real man's sport the young lad thought! it was there he determined that he too would finish the race.

fast forward to 2005. dad bought a c-1. a one man canoe. this way he could paddle every day and practice, enter races and meet other paddlers that would be interested in finishing the monster race.

enter garth. yes, i said garth. an average paddler with the same goal. to finish the race! they met, they teamed, they practiced, they entered as team g-train!

july 30,31. we packed up our bags and headed to the cabin to be the bank crew. well, mike, nathan and my mom were really part of the crew. nic was with ava bava (about 2 months then) much of the time, and i was asleep in the back of the truck (about 2 months shy of connor and enormously pregnant....what was i thinking??)

the race begins at 9 p.m. on the 30th. they paddle from grayling to oscoda. 120 or so miles if i'm not mistaken. the leaders can do this in about 14 hours. the maximum allowed time was 19 hours this year. (remember that for later)

you may think this is cheesy or not really hard, but it is something i would not soon try. i've seen this race a few times and it is hard enough to watch let alone try and race. i haven't stayed awake for an entire race yet, let's just put it that way. but it is so action packed. the start is just wild. over 50 canoes start out a few blocks away from the river. the teams have to carry their boats and race to the bank. then just jump in and start paddling. we all sit on a huge hill where we can see the boats coming around the corner. as the first canoes appear, the crowd errupts! it's like a pro basketball game or something. then for a few minutes they just keep coming. jumping over each other trying to get into the river and start on their way.

finally, we saw it. my dad's orange shirt. so we all jump up and start cheering. boy, your blood can really get pumping when you're pregnant! then in a blur they were gone and so were we. from then on out it's a non-stop night.

we drive to each spot where there's bank access to the river. if the guys needed food, water, gatorade, advil, dry clothes. this was where they got it. but the thing is...they don't stop. they only slow down.....a little. so nathan and mike had to wade out in the river and drop goodies in the boat as they flew by. early on i would get out and cheer them on and grab empty water bottles or carry the flashlights. but after about two stops (two or three hours after the start of the race) i was in the back of the truck asleep. i would only wake up when my mom and nathan needed me to make my dad a pb and j or stick some advil in a banana.
all night dad paddled. all night mike, nic, mom and nathan took supplies out to the g-train.

morning came and i was finally up and around to help cheer them on. then it was lunch time and they were still quite a way from the finish line. the nerves started to get me. probably more hormones than anything. i just wanted them to finish so badly. i would feel horrible if they had come this far only to be disqualified. it would crush the whole team.

discouragement really set in when the coast guard followed them in from foote pond. they were dead last. and they were really coming close to the dq time of 19 hours. but we were still there to cheer them on.

whirlpool. the last spot we would see them before the finish line. this was it. all we could do was wait and pray. and we did plenty of both.

as we sat at the finish line. we counted the minutes. 20 minutes left. would they come around the bend in time? mike went over to the dj (who at this point was just thinking "aren't all the racers in? can i go home now?") and he requested one of my dad's fav fun songs. which brings me to the title of this post. sweet home, alabama.

he started to play it before we saw them. and i thought, "oh, great. he played it too early and now they won't hear it as they come in!"

just then, from around the corner. could it be? was that the tip of a canoe? YES! IT WAS!! they had made it. in perfect rhythm with the song. spielberg couldn't have done it any better!

just a hair under 19 hours too! whew! finally we could all relax. what a trip! just writing this i am remembering all the emotions. it was really cool to see a dream realized. i couldn't believe how intense it was for me. just an observer.

oh, boy. when connor's in sports, i'm gonna be such a bleacher mom! what a basket case!

now let me (papa nate dawg) give my little twist to this book of a post. What Chrsitina didn't bother to inform you all is that she wasn't just sleeping in the back of the truck - oh nay my lad - she was sleeping in luxury in the back of that truck. Who knew a Queen size air mattress would fit back there for a 7 month pregnant lady. She was a real trooper, but she stuck it out. As for mike and myself - I dare say that the bank crew wasn't complete with out PK (a friend of garth, or as i called garth "gerth"). What a gem he was I never knew that a guy could wear shorts that short and still be a man. Anyways I am very intrigued with this sport, and a great man once described it perfectly "stroke, stroke, stroke switch stroke, stroke, stroke" sounds like fun doesn't it. I do give G train a double thumbs up for his efforts, one day I hope to do this race just so he will stop calling me a weenie. I mean really I can beat him in a foot race but he is all about this endurance tough man's race. Oh well keep paddling old one, paddle like the wind!!!!

stopping for supplies....well, slowing for supplies

note the coast guard following the canoe in to this portage (that's when they have to get out and carry their boat over a dam)

at one portage the guys stopped to catch their breath and find out where they were in relation to the leaders. well guys, the leaders are about to finish...but don't quit!

it's a long lonely night of paddling. most of which is in total darkness.

the racers get iced down and massaged for a job well done

it was here that my dad looked up and asked, "so, who won?"