Rollin' on the river

The state of North Carolina deems it necessary to give me a paid holiday on Good Friday. I think this is somewhat ridiculous, but I try not to complain about paid days off. We decided that there was no better way to spend my day off (Jessie's job did not give Good Friday off, she had to use vacation time.) than taking a trip down the river. The Neuse River to be exact.

We decided to try a 5-7 hour float from Highway 42 to Smithfield. The Highway 42 put-in is about 10 minutes from the house. This stretch is roughly 14 miles or so and there are only two roads that cross it in that span, so we thought it would be a relaxing way to spend a nice sunny day.

We packed some lunches, dropped the jeep off in Smithfield, and headed back to Hwy 42. About 10 minutes down the river, we realized that I had forgotten my hat! It was in the jeep. The temps were forecasted to be around 90, without a cloud in the sky. Luckily, we had remembered the sunscreen. Here's a few different perspectives on the trip.

Jason's view:


Jessie's View:


The sun's view:


Though no photographic evidence exists, it is worth mentioning that Jessie did loan me her hat for a time so I could rest my squinty eyes. Just not when we floated past the Johnston County Prison near Smithfield.

Even though the water was muddy, the trip was actually very interesting. There are some massive old trees that line the banks and several almost slate-like rocky bank sections. We also floated under a cool old railroad bridge.


In fact, it was as we passed under this bridge that our trip became complete. There, spray-painted on the side of the cement, all our suspicions were laid to rest.

(JoCo = Johnston County. We live in JoCo.)