Daddy-Daughter Vacation - Day 3

We got up much earlier today and said goodbye to our neighbors. When we left the campground (0730), we stopped at Tudor's Biscuit World for breakfast (0750). Basically, Mollie and I were retracing the steps from the 2007 trip... We drove back to the ACE Resort and got equipment for our rafting trip! After checking in (0840), we rode a bus to Thurmond and put our "duckies" in the water (at around 1015) just upriver from Thurmond. We had a great time on the Upper New all day: in addition to the many Class III rapids we went through, we stopped for lunch (BBQ chicken and pork, potato salad, mac and cheese, veggies, tortellini, cookies, pudding) along the river. Other fun activities included: rock jumping (I dared the drop but Mollie didn't budge), duckie battles and wildlife viewing (herons and bald eagles flying, plentiful deer and groundhogs).  Our guide was Rich (assisted by Randy, Tonya, Adelaide, Brennan). Mollie started off tentatively ("Dad, you are going to stay close to me, right?") but continued building confidence all day ("Dad, stop following me!" and "This is just like when we went bowling - I can do it myself!"). She only fell in the water once (at "Surprise" Rapids) but that was the hardest one and she insisted on going first (I barely missed her flying raft - and her floating helmet - as I paddled by). We met several nice people (including an active duty Navy family on the PCS move of a lifetime). It rained a bit on us before the day was done but it was generally sunny and pleasant. We were also startled when a huge tree fell, just as we finished our paddle (1530).  We rode the bus back through the woods to ACE after our fun-filled day. We had planned to swim in the resort lake but the lines were really long at the welcome center. We settled for reviewing the photo package (we bought one, 1645). Soon after that, we got to watch the personalized rafting trip video with the group we'd met during the day - it was funny and included Mollie's epic spill (we bought that too, 1820). After a very memorable day, we left ACE (1830). Mollie again asked if we could visit Grandview, so we drove down there. The weather was much better this time and we ended up eating dinner we'd packed as we rested in the pleasant evening air. We were treated with some amazing views of the New River from hundreds of feet above. The best overlook (Turkey Spur) was closed but we found several other places where we could enjoy seeing the clouds below and the tiny trains in the gorge. We arrived back at our campsite by 2030. I tried to start another fire (was not as successful because there had been some rain, apparently). The cell signal was intermittent throughout the trip, so talking was definitely an option! :-) We went to bed, pretty tired from our amazing day - Mollie was already planning to visit again so we could take a trip on the Lower New River or the Lower Gauley River...