A Place Called Ducktown

We spent last weekend just across the border in Tennessee, in a little place called Ducktown (incidentally, we only saw one lone waterfowl all weekend).  By little, I mean there is one restaurant, one grocery store, one gas station, one dollar store (which apparently sells beer), and two bed and breakfasts.  But you don't go there for the culture.  You go for the river.  Ducktown happens to be the closest town to the whitewater kayaking course for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta on the Ocoee River.  The course is only a quarter mile long, but the river offers other whitewater areas, as well.

Other than an "educational" outing to a baby river in high school, this was my first whitewater rafting trip.  Of course, I had a great time.  There was actually someone that couldn't swim in our raft.  That must have took some guts.  Even though the gear includes a robust lifejacket, I still think it would be helpful knowing how to swim if you fell out of the raft.  However, we didn't test that theory.

Our guide managed to get us stuck on a rather obvious rock right at the beginning of the trip (great way to inspire confidence), but other than that the trip was smooth sailing (figuratively speaking...taken literally, that would make for a rather boring whitewater trip).

US Whitewater Course

Besides the rafting and one hiking excursion, we spent most of the weekend relaxing in the bed and breakfast.  On both Saturday and Sunday, we made it down to breakfast at 8:30 and then crawled back into bed until at least noon.  It was nice.  We could have done this without leaving our own home...but we wouldn't have.  We also wrote our long overdue vows (Wait, what?  The wedding is in less than a month?).  It actually took us both less than an hour, but so far we just hadn't taken the time to sit down and knock them out.

Our experience at this bed and breakfast was quite different than at any of the others we'd stayed in before.  We spent a lot more time with the innkeepers and other guests than we had before, mainly because the inn's wi-fi did not reach our room...which could have been a downside, had they not been so likeable.

Doing a little front porch sitting at The Company House in Ducktown, TN.

And, as is expected, the food was delicious.  The only dish I specifically remember was the caramel french toast, but I rolled away from the table every morning.  That was a good thing, because finding other food sources was a challenge.  The one restaurant in town was...well "family restaurant" is the best description.  Basically, not really good at making much of anything, including burgers (although the green beans were good).  However, after enjoying the charms of this establishment, we did discover a more touristy town (hence, a few more choices) within ten miles.  The key find was a BBQ joint that gave out a rock with every meal.  What a souvenir!