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| Hat with Attitude |
The first hat is a Life is good hat. It is red with Life is good written on the edge of the bill. A embroidered man and dog are on the front.Jake is the name of the Life is good man, he has on a backpack and is hiking with his yellow dog. My Dad gave this hat to me, he said that my brother Todd had given it to him. The day I saw it, I commented that it looked like Gracie and me, so my Dad said "do you want it?" and I said" yes" and he said" take it" and I took it! End of that story-short and sweet! One day there will be a strong sentimental attachment to the red hat.
The next hat down the shelf is a hat I just recently bought, it gets worn more than the others. The truth be told it is not hanging, it is laying on the table where I can get it as I go out the door. This hat has canoe written on it underneath a canoe paddle and three evergreen trees. It kinda defines who I am.!
Peg number three has two hats. The bottom hat is a blue hat with Marine Corps written on the front..I bought the Marine hat down at Parris Island during Marine Corps Boot Camp Graduation. My son served as a Marine when he finished High School. There are many stories that could be told related to his time in the Corps. One very short version of a Boot Camp story. My wife sent him a music box for Christmas while he was in Boot Camp-the DI was not a happy camper!!-My son had to do push ups while listening to his Mamma's Music BOX! If you know my son, have him tell the story-very funny! Not funny then!!! I wore the hat with pride during his Marine Corps days, when he got out I hung it up.
The second hat on peg three is a gift hat for subscribing to the canoe&kayak magazine. Canoe& Kayak are written on the front and LIVE BREATH PADDLE are written on the back. I also have a tee shirt with the words PADDLE RELAX REPEAT across the front. Only on special occasions do I wear this hat, not very often, who knows what makes an occasion special? I just like the hat.
Two hats are also hanging on the fourth peg. A dark brick red hat with The North Face logo embroidered on the front. I had to have this hat because of all the North Face gear I own.Super two man tent- or in my case, one man and a yellow dog tent. Great warm sleeping bag-shared with Gracie until we couldn't both fit in it. When she was a little puppy I would not zip the bag up so she could lay with her back to me and her feet sticking out, she got older and bigger so she now sleeps curled up on the bag where ever she wants to. Several other pieces of North Face equipment round out my gear and help make the canoeing and camping experience a comfortable time. North Face has served me well for a number of years.
Mountain Bridge Wilderness is Jones Gap State Park and Caesars Head State Park, the trails connect with each other and make for many miles of hiking trails. The number two hat has Mountain Bridge and the soles of two hiking boots embroidered on the front above the bill. One summer many years ago every free day I had was spent hiking in the Mountain Bridge area. I covered all the trails, most of them twice doing the out and back thing as I solo hiked. Gracie wasn't even born then to share these miles, we've hiked some of the trails together at Jones Gap but not many. This hat reminds me of the year I really started hiking.
The lowest peg, maybe the saddest one, has a florescent orange hunting hat collecting dust; it hasn't been worn in such a long time.Really have nothing to say about about it, bought it a number of years ago to wear hunting, haven't been hunting in I don't know how long- got tired of carrying a gun in the woods. Never really shot anything, took a paperback to read while waiting for the deer to wander by, easier to do with out a gun!
The other hat is a nice hat with Charleston SC on it's front. All the vacations we took down there and all the good times we had. Speaking of hunting, my son and I would pretend to shoot the pelicans flying along the shore. We spent much time wading through the water watching for the big birds flying low over the water. We would raise our imaginary guns and shoot at the groups of pelicans, when one would dive into the ocean after a fish,we had a hit. People probably thought we were crazy and a little redneck-We were! It was a lot of fun! One vacation I almost drown as the undertow pulled my tired body out to sea. The rescue squad was called out to save me, but they were too late. Tide was going out and I stumbled onto a sand bar way out in the ocean, walked all the back to the shore. They waited for me to see if I was OK and assured me it happened all the time-people getting sweep out to sea. That was a scary experience. This man from the Upstate was really glad to see the foothills of SC, the Blue Ridge Mts. off in the distance and lakes with quiet waters when he got home a few days later. Charleston SC is a wonderful city, I will vacation there again some summer.
Devils Fork State Park, the park adjacent to Lake Jocassee is the wording on the hat hanging on one of the last two pegs. Jocassee is my favorite play ground in the Upstate! Gracie and I have camped here, my wife, Gracie and I have camped here, my niece and her family have camped here with my wife, Gracie and I. Devils Fork is such a great place to be and the lake and beautiful mountains surrounding it make for a relaxing and refreshing stay. You will have to go back and read several of the older blogs to understand all the good things I could say about this part of SC.
The hat rack would not be complete without my Old Town 100 year old anniversary hat. Old Town Canoe made the canoe which has opened the out doors for me, many miles have Gracie and I paddled on the different lakes not only in SC, but also in NC. Once again you will have to read some older blogs to read all the good things about flat water canoeing.
One more hat- my Tilly hat-pictured above, he has no peg to call his own! Stuffed in my day pack or laying in the bottom of the canoe, thrown on the old couch in my room, riding around in the truck, he gets no respect! I turn him upside down and use him for a dry spot on wet logs, lay my head on him when napping in the middle of a trail, and soak him in the lake for a cool covering on hot summer days. This is my second Tilly hat, the first was blown off my head during a quick hard storm in the middle of Lake Jocassee. Lost never to be found!
In the woods or on the water
Turtle
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