Rain drenched but still smiling are: (l-r, in front) Molly Goode, Margaret Goode and Susan Bean; (at top) Ed and Marlys Daugherty with Susan Wilhoit; and (in the middle row) Wilson Goode, Forrest Daugherty, Elizabeth Marie Melchionna, Mike Goode and Ian Nelson.

What a wonderful weekend:  a three-day holiday for most; warm weather that brought out shorts and t-shirts; basketball and football games for the ardent sports fans; and a new eighth season of “24″ for Kiefer Sutherland enthusiasts (hope you saw him on Letterman’s Late Show in a dress!).

There is still news from late December to catch up with and today Around Davidson brings news of a canoe trip to the Everglades and Nancy Gardner’s visit to South Africa.

PADDLING WITH A PURPOSE

Talk about community effort! A group from Davidson put their outdoor skills to work over the December holidays – canoeing and camping in the Everglades!

Making the trip to South Florida on Christmas weekend were Ed and Marlys Daugherty and their son, Forrest; Mike and Margaret Goode and their children, Molly and Wilson; Davidson graduates (and alums of Davidson Outdoors) Susan Bean, Elizabeth Marie Melchionna and Ian Nelson, as well as Ian’s friend, Susan Wilhoit (a 4th year medical student at the University of Louisville).

The group traversed the water in two giant voyager canoes – with the middle seats removed to make room for camping gear.

Photogenic, yes, but gator sightings put a damper on any thoughts of taking a dip in the water.

The first two nights were spent at Burns Lake Campground in Big Cypress National Preserve beside a pond posted “No Swimming” for good reason. Alligators were spotted in the pond as well as strolling along the path to their campsite! The group tried out their canoes with day paddles in the surrounding creeks searching for alligators and manatees but only spotted a roseate spoon bill in flight. Luckily on the third day they obtained permits to camp within Everglades National Park. With the two canoes lashed together with bamboo and a sail mast rigged, the eleven boarded their “catamaran” and sailed much of the 17-mile route to their camp at Watson Place.

Additional nights on the beach at Pavilion Key on the  Gulf of Mexico  were delightful. The group pretty well mastered “hole vaulting” when Susan Bean and Forrest dug a deep hole in the sand and Wilson found a canoe poling stick at water’s edge. (This sport resembles pole vaulting but you dig a deep hole, run fast with your pole, jab it into the pit and vault yourself to the other side of the hole.)

A serene holiday ride through the Everglades.

A highlight for the entire group was toasting the New Year with pizza (cooked in a Dutch oven by Mike) and champagne under a beautiful full moon. Each person found the fellowship, the teamwork and the beauty of the park a distinct highlight. As Mike Goode wrote: “We paddled with the tide, sailed with the wind, and ate with the no-see-ums (insects). Being able to see some of the everglades in a canoe is a real treat!” The group returned to the chill of Davidson on January 2 with wonderful memories of Florida sunshine and a marvelous adventure.

Just a note to catch our readers up on the young Davidson grads: Ian Nelson is teaching math at the Asheville High School; Susan Bean is in graduate school at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville; and Elizabeth Marie Melchionna is back in Davidson as Associate Rector at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY B-DAY, CURTIS GARDNER

Curtis Gardner left last summer for a volunteer year in South Africa with Grassroots Soccer and Kick for Life.  These partner organizations use soccer to educate the people in South Africa about HIV/Aids.  Tournaments  and education sessions are turned into opportunities to get young people to come and learn the facts.  Volunteers also advocate HIV testing and help supply appropriate medicines.

See the "Summit Coffee" sign in Nancy Gardner's hand? She and Curtis brought it along for a pony trek in Semonkong.

Curtis’ mom, Nancy Gardner, teaches at Mooresville High School.  When the last bell rang for Christmas vacation, she hurried to the airport and caught flights taking her to Cape Town where she met Curtis.  For the first four days, the Gardners toured beaches, wineries, Cape Peninsula and Table Mountain.  A ferry took them to visit the former prison of Nelson Mandela on Robben Island.  They also spent time with Grassroots Soccer interns in Cape Town and caught the World Cup fever.  (The World Cup will be decided this summer in South Africa with international teams playing in ten different stadiums located throughout the country.  Curtis had his photo taken with the World Cup trophy as it traveled through South Africa but has yet to secure tickets for any of the games.)

Renting a car, Nancy and Curtis traveled with two other Grassroots interns along the Garden Route enjoying the incredible scenery while staying at backpacker’s lodges and taking a self-drive safari.  Christmas Eve Nancy and Curtis arrived in Lesotho (also known as Kingdom in the Sky) where Curtis is living this year in South Africa.

Santa Curtis and his mom spent Christmas Day at an orphanage in Lesotho.

Nancy tells of a most remarkable and meaningful Christmas when she and Curtis (dressed as Santa) spent the day at an orphanage.  There they entertained 34 youngsters with dancing, singing, playing soccer, cooking lunch on a grill and providing each with a small Christmas gift.

A few days later Nancy and Curtis traveled to remote and sparsely populated Semonkong where the inhabitants are shepherds and cow herders.  They experienced pony trekking there in the beautiful mountains and valleys.  For his 26th birthday on December 28, Nancy  gifted Curtis with fly fishing gear which he was able to try in a Semonkong river – not snagging too many fish but an occasional branch!

Nancy was delighted to travel in SouthAfrica and especially to stay in the Maseru area of Lesotho where Curtis lives and to meet so many of his fellow interns and friends.  In answer to a question about favorite foods in Lesotho, Nancy laughed as she mentioned the opening of a brand new Pic ‘n Pay near Curtis’ apartment which is the “daily destination” for residents.  Nancy poked through the food aisles and came up with something similar to shish-kebab for Christmas Eve dinner and a pasta dish for Curtis’ birthday.  Otherwise the menu for Curtis (training for a half Iron Man) features a lot of chick peas and fruit.

Quite a trip and quite an adventure for Nancy.  Curtis plans to return to the states late this summer.

NOTEWORTHY NOTES

Don’t forget the Davidson Toastmasters’ Club Open House tomorrow evening.  Come to the Davidson Parks and Rec building just off Armour Street at 5:45 p.m.  This fledgling group began meeting just last September and is just short of the 20 members needed to be chartered.For more information contact Anette Powell at 704.655.7479 or Jan Tevepaugh, 704.892.7162.

Send us your news

Have news for Brenda? Write to her at hbarger@bellsouth.net.