Confluence, Pa., Where Mountains Touch Rivers and Grace Moved Hearts.
An opportunity came up for me to attend a Jesus encounter in Alabama, where we have 2 dear couples as friends. Our 14 year wedding anniversary was around the same time. We decided to roll the 2 into an adventurous 14 day road trip.
We have already hit the 6 New England states as anniversary destinations, so this was the perfect opportunity to branch out a little.
Ann did some research and found Confluence, Pa to be a location for outdoor activities. It was decided that we would spend a few nights in a cozy little bungalo on the Youghiogheny River and take in some outdoor recreation.
When the time arrived, Ann took ill. This was the last thing either of us wanted after such a winter. We prayed together and asked others to join us. Ann assured me that she would pull through it, and that we were going forward with our plans.
I took an unplanned day off the day prior to leaving, because I couldn't wait any longer. I used the time to pack and prepare. By Saturday morning the car was “locked and loaded”. All we had to do was hop in and turn the key.
We shoved off promptly at 5 AM. The 8 hour drive was interrupted by several bathroom breaks and leg stretches, making it a 10 hour trip. The long drive apparently was doing us some good. We found ourselves completing conversation that we never had time to finish over the busy winter months.
The long drive was broken up by many laughs. The funniest being, when Ann pounded her window vigorously, and yelling to the driver of the truck we were passing, that he was losing stuff out the back. I said, “Ann, do you really think he heard you”? “I was hoping you wouldn't notice that”, she said.
The highlight was stopping in Troy, Pa for lunch at Building No.9 Grille. It has big garage style doors as windows. The weather was perfect, and the doors were rolled up and open wide. We had the privelege of sitting at one of them. Watching people walk by, for us people watchers, took on a whole new feel. The window sill tempted us to sit and dangle our feet over the sidewalk.
Cierra, our server, greeted us like family, and treated us like royalty. By the time we left, we knew enough about each other that I feel we had become friends.
That's what we like about traveling and conversing with the people the Good Lord puts in our path. We often walk away with a renewed hope in mankind. We feel enriched by the people we meet and hopefully, they feel enriched by us too. These connections, we feel are more than coincidences.
The other part to our travel enjoyment is getting to see new landscape. I had never been through western Pennsylvania. Well maintained dairy farms dot every large rolling hill and deep valley, creating a picture postcard at every turn. I was amazed at the large hills and valleys
Ann reserved the Yough Bungalo for 3 nights. When we reserved our bungalo, we failed to notice that it did not have a cook stove. I'm not sure Ann was all that dissapointed, as cooking on our vacations is not her jam. The bungalo served it's purpose none the less.
The extended forecast for the area was not looking promising for the activities we had in mind. It looked like Easter Sunday was going to be our best day, and that was questionable. While Ann was looking for local churches to worship with and restaurants to have Easter dinner; I was booking reservations for a guided white water rafting tour on the Youghiogheny River!
Ann looked dissapointed, but could see that the kid in me had overtaken me. She willingly sacrificed her desires for mine. It was here that I experienced an Easter revelation. The sacrifice afforded by Grace and Mercy has the power to change lives. I see compromise and sacrifice in a less selfish light.
We were both eager for this white water adventure, but we had many questions. We decided to arrive a little early to have them answered.
This is where things began to get tense. In my excitement I forgot to get gas. The GPS has been known to be wrong, and it was literally taking us up a road that was sketchy. Every hill had us worried. More questions ran through my head. Plans were being made for plans that could fail. We chose to trust the good Lord, and that we would find the place before running out of gas.
Suddenly, after many hills, valleys and twisted turns, an oasis appeared. At the bottom of a long hill were signs of civilization. A big sigh of relief, like a rushing wind, was heard from both of us. We found the place, but our GPS had us going in circles, making this tension thing a real roller coaster ride. We finally parked. When we got out, it seemed like an imaginary stop watch began our time, and there was little of it left.
A bunch of people in wetsuits seemed to be preparing for their trip. This must be our gang we reasoned. When we arrived at the front desk, via a short cut through the back of the building, a nice lady at the counter could not find our reservation. Our hearts sank like a raft in a class 5 rapid! A young lady with a clip board in her hand appeared to be the company's program director. She kindly intercepted us and determined that we were at the wrong adventure company. We were on our own adventure, and it wasn't beginning to be very fun!
We barely said thank you, and rushed around the corner. We didn't even have time to be embarrassed! We found White Water Adventure Company, right where it was supposed to be. Another sigh of relief was short lived. The imaginary clock was still ticking.
While I was trying on my wetsuit, some well meaning young lady picked out 2 wetsuits for Ann to try on. Unfamiliar with wet suits and how they are supposed to fit, Ann's tension was at its breaking point. I could just feel it. I quickly ran to the bathroom where she was. As I reached for the door, I was greeted with a loud yell calling my name. Startled to see each other standing at the door in front of each other, we both jumped back.
Behind the closed door, I could see that Ann had quite a mess, and was on the verge of a breakdown. This is where the grace and mercy that she had extended a day earlier hit me. I calmly tried helping her with her wetsuit without panicking. Inside I was boiling with frustration and I too had assumed the stop watch posture. We were like two monkeys fighting over a greased football. Trying to shoe horn Ann into one of these suits was impossible, and highly embarrassing to my wife. I think we may have even swore!
To save embarrassment, I went out and asked for a larger suit. That was the ticket. Her sigh of relief seemed hollow. To Ann the clock was still ticking. She thought we were holding everyone up, and she still had questions to ask. The staff was kind enough to point out that others were still getting dressed. They answered all of her questions.
The boiling little Armenian was beginning to idle down. Her bright red face was gaining its natural color again. She was beginning to resemble the woman I love.
We made it to the river with our raft and took in all the directions with great care. My only concern now was Ann's comfort. What if she falls out of the boat? What if she gets cold and wet early in our adventure? It was too late now!
Our guide had us walk our raft into the water. There goes everything I told her about not getting wet! A quick look back to Ann and I knew I was still good.
Our meandering down the river came quickly to an end. Lucas shouted direction for us to paddle, and before we knew it, we were coming into a large class 4 wave sideways. The front, where I was sitting, plunged head long into the wave, covering me from head to toe with cold April Spring water. We emerged as quickly as we submerged. I looked behind me to make sure Ann was still with us and that she was not giving me the death stare. I was still good!
We had 2 solid hours of rapid fun down class 3 and 4 rapids. Looking back to see if Ann was ok became less frequent. When we landed down stream a miraculous thing occurred. It wasn’t Ann who was cold, or had to pee. It was me! If I had to wait any longer I would have peed in my wetsuit; even if it was for a brief spurt of warmth
Not only do mountains touch the rivers in Confluence, Pa, but it is where Grace and Mercy moved my heart.
Though the rushing waters of the Youghiogheny River have passed, I will never forget this leg of our trip and the things Grace and Mercy taught me on this Resurection Sunday.
Comments
Post a Comment