The US National Whitewater Center

Did you know the US Nat'l Whitewater Center was in Charlotte, NC? National as in Olympic Team??? Oh yes, my friend, it is. I went to the USNWC as a Senior in college and wasn't too fond of it, actually. I love rafting and kayaking (the Center's specialties), but I am almost uncomfortable doing those things in a man-made, concrete, circular facility with pedestrians crowded around. Ben, on the other hand, thinks it's awesome. He has gone a few times since we've lived in North Carolina, and last weekend I finally decided to be a good wife and come along to watch and support him.

In all fairness, the place is pretty cool. It has expanded a lot in four years, and now is an adult's playground. It not only has whitewater rafting and kayaking routes, but mountain bike trails, hiking, adventure ropes course stations, zip lines, paddleboarding, etc. I've been interested in stand up paddleboarding for a while, so Ben convinced me to try it here! I'm really glad I did, it was so fun! And probably the closest I'll ever get to feeling like 007 (10 points if you understand that reference!)

Ben tried it, too...

We put my light t-shirt over Whit's head to protect him from the sun. 

We had him in the baby tent on the side of the river while we took turns paddle boarding. I am so glad we bought that thing- it was a great investment! It keeps him shaded and bug-free, it makes it easier for him to sleep or get a diaper change, and he doesn't seem to mind it! Win, win, win. 

 And Ben got some really amazing photos of Whit smiling!!!! Yay!!!!

Unfortunately, that is all we have evidence of from our fun, adventure-packed day. The SD card we had in our camera was a 2GB disguised as a 32 GB, so all the photos we took became unreadable after we filled up the 2 GB. Stupid China.

I guess we'll just have to go again!