So long, farewell, good-bye

The 2010-2011 year of Service Adventure Philippi has come to and end but not before an exciting activity packed closure week all culminating to some sad good-byes on June 18. We started the week with a little bit of house cleaning and then moved onto the outdoor adventures!

Canopy Tour

First off was the canopy tour, also known as zip lining. It was a new experience for all of us except Christina, who had done it before in Costa Rica. It was an exhilarating time zipping from tree stand to tree stand at speeds topping near 40MPH and up near 80 feet in the trees. Our guides always kept us clipped in for safety so most people weren't too worried doing the zips, but the suspension bridges were still a little shaking for others. Check out the video below of a few zips down to a snack break spot. If you're ever interested in doing one of these, we highly recommend the people at Nelson Rock Outdoor Center, they were friendly, professional, and reasonably priced!




Monday night we pitched tent at a nearby campground and prayed for a DRY night of camping. Mike helped get the fire going and our hobo dinners cooked, then headed home for the night with the kids. The good news is that it didn't rain Monday night, but Heidi and the girls learned that they need some more practice keeping a fire going, even with unlimited wood (there were down trees all around and piles of precut wood around every campsite). They were still able to make some yummy s'mores! Mike returned Tuesday morning in time to take everyone to the next adventure...white water rafting!

Rafting down the Cheat River

While we wanted a dry night for camping, we also wanted to have enough water for a good rafting experience. When Mike made the reservation, we were told there was a chance the river would be too low so we might need to go out on individual duckies. As fun as that sounded, most of us were a little nervous tipping over in little duckies. But we were fortunate to have gotten just enough rain a few days earlier that we were on for rafting. We rafted down the Cheat River through several intense rapids and plenty of calm rowing. No one actually fell out of our raft going over a rapid. But rather, after we cleared a rapid our guide called out "bump" which shortly thereafter we bumped a rock that knocked Heidi and Christina backward off the raft and into the river. We all had a good laugh after that. Tara and Mike decided to jump out a little later for a short swim. Tara had some trouble getting back in, so our guide told Ranita to help "flop her in like a fish." After some more laughs, we finished our four hour ride exhausted. If you want to experience that some time, we also recommend Blackwater Outdoor Adventures, they made the experience fun and provided a yummy lunch.

After our adventures, we spent some more time sharing together and cleaning the house. By the end of the week the house was cleaner than it was when everyone moved in :) and boxes were stacked up in a spare room. Since all the girls had family driving to Philippi to pick them up, it was decided to have a big cookout at the house for everyone to meet each other. Then we all went up to the farm for some dessert and invited everyone from the church to join us. It was a nice relaxing evening together that had to end all too soon. Early Saturday morning all the cars were packed, hugs were given, and after a final blessing everyone departed. Thanks for a great year!

Last Sunday together at church

First Sunday together at church