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Sept. 6, 2006 With fall coming on and the blessed relief from the heat in some ways we can often see that we still have great warm days ahead of us down here. We still have time to learn things and do them outdoors. Many people just can't afford the cost of going to lessons or are just curious. Being in that position many times, I often glean the web to find something that I or my family can learn and eventually when I get the money go back and learn for life. Even if there is a small course fee involved 9 times out of ten they are worth the small fee. Single Free SCUBA Lesson. Such was the case for my husband and our family when I fund his SCUBA lesson and I got hooked on snorkeling. My husband's course was very reasonable at 350 dollars to fulfill a lifelong dream of being a certified SCUBA diver. While he took his free lesson and became hooked on SCUBA I after much trepidation tried it and decided I would try snorkeling and it was an amazing lesson. Basically I borrowed equipment and my daughter and husband who had already taken the intro to SCUIBA taught me about the equipment how to place and properly fit a mask, use a snorkel, purge and not to panic. Snorkeling is fun and doesn't cost as much as SCUBA. And if you can learn to free-dive you can go about 10-15 feet on a breath. Of course with SCUBA you can go anywhere and not worry. The south has many great places to Snorkel and SCUBA. You can got to the shore- Atlantic that is and go off of SC, NC, GA, VA. You can go south to the gulf and snorkel with the manatees. NO SCUBA is allowed for this one because of the Manatees scare from the bubbles. But the areas are little known places are the tributaries, lakes and dive allowed quarries. A quarry in Philadelphia TN is an amazing place. Though I don’t recommend it to the newbie diver. The amount of items in the quarry and the low visibility can be dangerous. So if you do go, make sure you have someone who knows the place. The fees are reasonable and you have the added bonus of mingling with cows on the way up to the quarry. Its cost is 10 for divers and 3 for non-divers. This is am sure covers insurance purposes. It's located on private land but the groups that go there are wonderful and helpful. This is the regular hangout for the Concord Dive Center. Snorkeling I recommend is done up at the lake where TVA and TWRA people are available in case of problems. Aside from that you can also picnic at many areas. The cost for a snorkel set that fits well will cost about 30 dollars. The newest and only snorkel devoted shop in the area is set to open in summer of 2007. This place will have a SCUBA diver and snorkel instructor. As far as I found out snorkeling classes will be reasonable and as complete as can be. NO one goes alone and utilizes buddy systems the same as SCUBA. Many theories and methods that are used by SCUBA are employed in the snorkel and varieties of it that there are. When the shop opens it will be interesting to take a class. Onto the Mountains. The GSMNP or Great Smokey Mountain National Park is but a 30-minute drive from the metro Knoxville area. It is the only free State Park left in the US. Many people decide to go hiking and leave behind a mess for responsible hikers. As day hikers we have encountered everything for used diapers to candy bar wrappers and Macdonald's bags along trails. There is a saying Pack out your trash. If you are going to take it in, then take it out. Many people who visit the park feel that they don’t have to do that. So classes have been created for keeping your trash to yourself and leaving nature alone. But for many who are truly interested it's more than just slap on a pair of shorts a pair of sunglasses and sneakers. There are reasons behind clothing and methods. So a local store called Blue Ridge Mountain Sports offers backpacking 201 classes to teach you how to hike the GSSMNP or any other trail for that matter. If you have hiked before then you have to experience some of the lesser or easier trails that can also lead to some spectacular waterfalls. By stopping at the entrance visitor centers, like Sugarlands you will be Treated to a wonderful museum. And loads of hiking information including bear sittings warnings and weather up on the mountains. On almost every trail there is something to stop and look at. If however you are not a hiker for any reason then there are even motor trails. You stay in your car go at a really slow speed and enjoy what is around you. Such as Roaring fork. This trail has places to pull off and visit. You can walk around and in the actual homes of the settlers in the area. Then end your visit with a trip to thousand drips a mini series of cascade waterfalls. Its hard to believe that’s its in the heart of downtown Gatlinburg. If you visit the Blue Ridge site you can see the list of classes and events that are within everyone's price range. Onto our final destination for this week. The Local County fair. Its that time of year again. Corns hanging with ribbons, dolls, the smell of food, people and fun: almost vomit blowfish rides. What is a blowfish ride? It’s a ride where you scrunch your eyes real tight and the velocity makes your face screw up. At the local fairs the tickets vary. At Jefferson County it was a reasonable 10 bucks but that included all the rides. I for one was never into rides. I just didn’t do them, they were expensive and really what good were they. It wasn't until a few months ago I realized how wrong my mom was for not letting me go on them. I went on all the roller coasters at Dollywood and it hasn’t stopped. This time I went on a simple little slow ride. Ok I thought it was. It was nothing ore than a series of seats that looked like a park bench and it went around. I watched from a distance and it seemed harmless. OK.. So I was really wrong. It doesn't go slow it goes fast, it slings you from side to side and wiggles from side to side when it stops at the top and drops you. This safe little ride. The Gee Whiz…… It was next to the Scrambler, then the Getting Air, Ferris wheel. And I got very ill on the TAZ. So bad I thought I had a concussion, I do know I had a headache for two days afterwards. Hubby and daughter rode that ride where the cages flip around and she actually managed to go all around once. She tried the rope walk, but flipped over, but she won at the midway a stuffed monkey and a little panda. So it was worth while, and these were between a buck and three per game. Sure you could go out and buy one but where's the fun in that. The food was expensive and really not worth the money but it kept the energy up. We made our way to the exhibit event and to our delight our daughters floral arrangement came in First. That's part of the fun of a Fair. You get to enter things and win ribbons. My doll came in second but an Apron came in first so we were happy. Midnight came too quickly and there were still rides to be gone to. Everyone was bummed out by the park shutting down so early. After all the night was still young and the sun has just set a little while ago. And all wanted to stay later and ride more. The carnival workers wouldn't have minded either as that meant more money to them. Some patrons even commented on that they wanted the park open till at least 1. But it was worth the time. If anyone caught the news of Sunday and Monday, One of the stations did a report on the dying breed of Ag fairs, That is Agriculture fairs. Many states feel they are bothersome and not needed. The piece went on to say that only 2 percent of the population are farmers, and yet we as farmers produce almost all of that food you eat. So don’t you think that by acknowledging our hard work you could have a good time? We here in the south take our fairs seriously. Competition begins with knowing which ribbons you got at this one and working to make it better next year. Plotting, planning and working on each piece or planting the right crop to outdo is time consuming and thought provoking. A lot goes into planning for a fair entry. Just try it once and see for yourself. You don’t have to be a farmer to enter an exhibit, you just have to enjoy what you do and put every effort into it. ------------ About the author: Currently Julia is working on creating new books of Folk Crafts from History and getting entries ready for competitions and state fairs. LULU.com is her pereferred publisher and will have all of her volumes available for print this summer. She is still at DePaul University plugging away at her BA in ethnography and stays at home in the East Tenneseee area with her hubby, daughter, nine babies and acre's of wild fruit. Email: jimmysdevoted2@bellsouth.net Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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