On Saturday, July 29, I went with Abby and her family to Tugaloo State Park in Georgia. When we arrived, we explored the park to see what there was to do. We settled on canoeing for our first activity. I started off as the captain of my vessel, with able-bodied seaman Anthony Garland paddling in the front and midshipwoman Abby in the middle. My steering was judged less than adequate by both Abby and Anthony, so they mutinied. We all turned around in our seats so that I was paddling in the bow, Anthony was captain in the stern, and Abby, oddly enough, was still the midshipwoman. Abby was terrified (her own word) throughout most of the voyage, largely because of her brother’s attempts to give her a more enjoyable ride by rocking the boat, which I may have assisted with a little bit. When it started raining we turned around and headed for the shore.

Tugaloo State Park panorama

After a picnic lunch, it had stopped raining, so we played played sand-lot volleyball—Abby and Mr. Garland vs. Anthony, Auria, and I, with Mrs. Garland as photographer. We then played miniature golf. Auria, Abby, and I played together, and Mr. and Mrs. Garland and Anthony played together. At the end of eighteen, Anthony was the victor.

After a few more activities, we returned to the Garland residence. There we ate dinner (the barbeque that I had been told so much about lived up to its reputation) and watched all four thousand of Abby’s photos with running commentary by Abby, Anthony, and Mr. Garland.

Note: Abby wrote the first draft of this post, but I have revised it. Perhaps she will see fit to restore any details I have omitted.