The clubs annual "Little Miami Outing" was again at Morgan's Canoe Livery and Campground near Morrow, Ohio. Tony and Alice arrived Thursday evening and set up their teardrop camper (No tent this time) on the designated site, number 51. It was after dark and the whole area was wet and muddy. Lots of rain fell earlier in the day. Being the only two people in the campground, it was very quite and still.
Friday afternoon trip leaders Ted and Connie pulled in at the same time Harold and Laurie showed up. Assessing the muddy situation, a decision was made to move camp to drier ground on sites 4, 6, 8. A tarp shelter was erected but fortunately, other than a small sprinkle, no further rain fell the whole weekend. Ted, Connie, Harold and Laurie headed to Oregonia for some great pizza at a local spot. Tom, Lance and Liz all came in and set up tents on adjoining sites 2,5, 7. After dark Wil drifted in with his new T@b camper. He said Gloria would be along on Saturday after work.
After a few games of chance, the members sat around a warm campfire while the damp, chilly, fall, air hung heavy. Wil had an Iphone with a star gazing app. You hold the phone up to the stars, which they could now see, and it told them the names of the stars and the constellations. Who knew a cell phone could be so fun?
Saturday morning was cloudy and threatened rain but Dirk, the campground owner, said the rain was going south. The canoes were loaded and everyone piled into two vehicles for the 13-mile trip upstream. As they were driving off, Ted did a head count. Tony was missing but he could be seen walking to the now stopped vehicles. The village or Corwin has a very nice canoe access point in their park and the members were soon securing their gear for the trip downstream.
Lance put in first and was stuck on a log. With Toms shove to help free him, over he went into the autumn water. The temperatures were in the 60's which made for a comfortable paddle and even helped dry stuff. Ted was paddling for the first since having new knees put in. Connie and him did great going tandem. Harold and Laurie were tandem as well as Liz and Tony. Lance, Tom and Wil were solo with Wil paddling for the forth time on his new knee. The tandem paddlers scrapped bottom at times but the water level was OK for September. The water was somewhat dirty which made seeing the "water panthers" very difficult. Poor Liz received some scratches on her new Swift carbon fiber canoe thanks to Tony. The leaves were just starting to change color adding some fine hues to the summer green they have been used to.
As the group was drifting under the Wilmington Road Bridge, a car drove over. All of a sudden, there was a noise as Liz was hit with a large plastic cup full of ice. Those dirty bastards knew there were canoes below them and did it on purpose. Luckily, Liz was just grazed with her glasses askewed and ball cap knocked off. Four hours later the crew pulled up at the campground after enjoying a fine fall day on the river. It was time to relax before the potluck.
Jock and Debbie arrived in the afternoon making a weekend total of 13 members. Naps, walks, drinks and cornhole were enjoyed with campground owner Dirk and his wife Laurie even playing cornhole. Then it was time.....for the potluck. Ted had beans and white cornbread. Not to be out done Jock had beans and yellow cornbread. The competition was on. There was butternut squash soup, bread, meatloaf, cake, cookies, vegetables, cheese and more. As a club, they eat well and it wasn't long until the reference to SOFA came up. Back in the day, the members made fun of the Southern Ohio Floaters Association as they always seem to be eating and slow to get on the water. Now OHCRA resembles SOFA. After eating, Liz had to head for home while the others got the campfire going. It wasn't as damp that evening and everyone shot the breeze until way after dark.
Sunday was a fair day. Ted had breakfast plans, which included pancakes in a Big Daddy skillet and fried potatoes. Jock, Harold and Wil were cooking the pancakes and they sure acted like Larry, Curly and Mo. Ted kept his distance over at the fried potato table. After a great breakfast, Harold, Laurie, Tom, Wil and Gloria paddled downstream around seven miles. Jock, Deb and Lance went bicycle riding on the ?????? bike trail. Tony, Alice, Ted and Connie all headed for their homesteads.
The weekend was a gamble due to rain being predicted but most of it missed and the temperatures held out for another enjoyable OHCRA outing. Only one more for the season before shutting down for winter.
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