Once we got to the lake, we just floated and floated. It’s what I always pictured you should do at a lake in the Ozarks. I was so relaxed, I just forgot to take any pictures.

It’s funny, 2025 was originally to be the year of finally going south, we would go through North Carolina on our way to Florida. Due to the massive destruction left behind by Hurricane Helene last year, I made the well thought-out decision to give them a year to recover, fix the Blue Ridge Parkway and Appalachian trail, rather than avoid my driving attractions.

Nature saw what I was doing and decided in May to flood the entire region where we would spend the month of June. The “50 year flood” has put every river and lake we have visited well over maximum capacity. Playgrounds and picnic areas are completely underwater and we spent the day floating and swimming amongst submerged trees that would normally provide shade to sunbathers and picnickers in the beach. Our campgrounds have been saturated and although we are experiencing great weather, the communities are still recovering from these generational storms. Serves me right for trying to be thoughtful. 

When the sun began to set we hiked to a marina and got some ice cream. Tomorrow an Aquarium.