100 and Done! (Countries that is...)

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We are back! This last trip brought the total countries visited to 100! It is a crazy milestone. It is difficult, time-consuming and can be (IS) expensive. After I got back from Antarctica in 2007, I started thinking about it. After 2010 I was thinking about it more (as I moved from NY to Georgia) and in 2014 it had become a real goal. Between Angie and I we have been to 109 Countries. We are tied at 100 countries each. We have 9 countries different in our lists. For example, I have been to San Marino. She has not. She has been to Israel. I have not, yet. There has been some fun competition in this area. That's why we had to establish rules. 1.) Must be listed (as a country) with the US State Department 2.) Being in an airport doesn't count. You have to get through immigration somehow and not in a DMZ or a no-mans-land 3.) A passport stamp is not required. I have been to Canada, Paraguay, and Uruguay without getting my passport stamped. There are friendly borders in many places...
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My kayak trip was awesome! So what happens when three restless boys want to do something exciting in Atlanta over the Thanksgiving holiday? Shoot the Hooch. Traverse the Chattahoochee river in grand style. We did it in a combination of couchsurfer, thrillseeker, and urban explorer (mostly Couchsurfer). We met for the first time last week. The participants, one from France (a recent MBA grad from Georgia Tech), one from California (a 20 something Mechanical Engineer) and me.

We put in at the Buford Dam at Lake Lanier. We put in illegally since the park was closed. (I mean who would want to use a park on a holiday?) We parked illegally at both ends of the run (not sure of the reasons, but an accumulation of a $50 parking ticket). And, we camped illegally for two nights. So, let's add some danger with two beginner kayakers, and very fast water. It is very dangerous, at least one person has died in the Chattahoochee in the last year from swift water. The risks were fully assessed. This wasn't a ride at Disneyland.

I have to admit that in my 28 miles I had a couple good shots of adrenaline, like when my team member got caught in a strainer and he had to bail inverted. Keep in mind, the temps were just above freezing during the evening, the water was cold. I was with two exceptionally cool guys.

It was fun cruising through the sanctum of the backyards of multi-gazillion dollar estates and country clubs. These are the same country clubs I enter the front door. At one point, I was out of my boat on a golf course. The golfers acted like a frogman just climbed out of their swimming pool. They didn't know whether to say hi or get me arrested. The biggest house we saw on the hooch was 32 thousand square feet, with an 18 hole golf course on 60 acres with a ten thousand square foot carriage house. Others were much more modest and I don't think we saw a single house with more than 5 stories.


















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gpc said…
Dang! What a cool trip! Great job!
Lynn K.
1:06 PM
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