Kayaking

This past weekend after going camping we went kayaking. The river was a little low, but thanks to the nightmarish torrential downpour that erupted onto our campsite, the river was still high enough to kayak. I am proud to say that I am the only one of the group to not "wet exit". When you wet exit, it simply means that if you turn your kayak over, instead of rolling it right side up, you pull the cord on the skirt and swim out of the boat. It is never good to stay upside in a kayak for an extended period of time, even with a helmet and protection gear. A good rule of thumb is that if you cannot roll your kayak the first time, exit. Every time you put your head back under water, the more chance you have of getting hurt you have. The only time I flipped my kayak the whole day was at the very end. There is a playspot called "ender hole". It's a natural wave that is pretty big, and if you have a playboat you can surf in it. I however, do not have a playboat at the current time. I lended mine to a friend to see if he wanted to buy it, so I went down in my creek boat. My creek boat is substantially longer than a playboat. When I tried to surf it, the back of the boat was being pulled off the wave, while the front was being pushed under, TRANSLATION=I flipped my boat. After about a second under water, I was able to roll the boat upright, so no harm no foul. Anyways, to make a long story short, I had a blast and I kicked everyone else's booty.
thanks for reading,
jake


-oh and the big rapid in the slide show is called "powell falls", much much easier than it looks

Camping

This weekend will be the first time, in a while, I have gone. I went once during the winter (I believe it was January and the coldest night in a couple of years, got to about 3 degrees F) but, that one didn't count considering we didn't really sleep. I thought to myself, as I huddled with three dudes for warmth, the next time I go camping it's gonna be warm. Well this weekend will be that next time. It is supposed to be a nice day on Friday with rain moving in early Saturday. Lucky for me I was smart enough to buy the rain shield for my hammock. We are going to a place called "King's Bend". It's right on the Locust Fork river and is amazingly beautiful. The fellow who owns it is letting us camp there as long as we behave. Considering this is a church group I'm going with, I wouldn't worry about that too much. Saturday morning, some guys from the Huntsville Kayak and Canoe club are coming down. All of the ones in the youth that want to go are going kayaking Saturday morning. Where we camp there is a racecourse for kayaking, and a big play hole to surf and do tricks in. I am very excited, I just know I'll miss my family, even for just one night. Oh well, I know I'm rambling, just couldn't think of anything else to write about. Thanks for reading,
jake

How I see LIFE

I was walking on a trail down to the Walls of Jericho in West Alabama. Before I got the the walls there was a graveyard. This graveyard is in a valley about 4 miles from the main road way way down. There is a a number of graves, and around this old cemetery is a tattered fence. I crossed the fence and got to the biggest tombstone in the lot. The tombstone is barely legible and says Joseph M Clark 1826-1866. There are no other distinguishible marks on the stone. I thought to myself, who is this guy? He lived through the Civil War yet there is no mention. There are many other headstones, was he the father? the son? what?

After giving thought to that, I wondered how people would think of me. It has been 120 years since Mr. Clark died. Nothing but a tombstone remains. I want to be remembered. I want a legecy. So, my journey begins. I have a wonderful wife and son, and if they love me till I die that's good enough, but I want more. I want to be remembered. I am putting this down now that on April 9th, 2008 I am beginning my journey to greatness.

What route will I go though?

MMA? My wife is waaaaay too scared

Kayaking? Kinda scared but ok if I stay in a group.

So what????? I'll tell you when I decide. I am going to try to be a pro kayaker, I don't know what else.

I may never be famous, or remembered, but I'm not going down easy. I hopefully will have more kids, and if I can't get famous, it'll be ok. Because I know that I will be loved and that's all I really need.

SMOKING HOT WIFE!!!

This is my wife, Andrea. We were high school sweethearts, and are happily married. We started dating in the summer of 1999 and still going strong.

Some Magic Some Tragic

There is a song by Jimmy Buffet named "He Went to Paris". The song tells the story of a man who had great dreams, but got caught up in an everyday normal guy kind of life. During the World War II his family was killed and he was handicapped by the loss of an eye. The song ends by the man talking about his life saying "Some of it's Magic, Some of it's tragic, but I've had a good life all the way."

When I was in high school I had this dream of becoming an All-American wreslter, to own a successfull business, and not to be tied down by any woman. I can look back now and think how silly.

I am currently a youth minister, college student, father, husband, landscaper, river rat, and a mma trainee.

Most would say I lead a pretty normal average life, and I say that I have everything Ive ever wanted. I couldn't be happier with the life that God has lead me to, and all that I ask is that he continue to lead me.