Column

by Kara Gebhart

Every once in awhile you sense perfection. I sensed it a few weekends ago for a split second, while standing underneath a roaring waterfall with some of my closest friends. I sensed it despite my moss-stained bikini and my water-soaked tennis shoes. I sensed it while my heart pounded against the walls of my chest, beating a thousand pumps a second - partly from excitement, partly from giddy fear. I sensed it through eyes barely able to hold themselves open; the water was coming down so hard and so fast. I sensed it because for a single moment life stood ideal, unblemished and perfect. And I was happy.

Road trips are an essential element of the college experience, as well as to the intensification of any good friendship. My friends and I have swum in the Atlantic Ocean, skied (and tumbled) down slopes in West Virginia and now, danced in waterfalls in Tennessee. If you haven't gotten lost in a state other than Ohio with 20 of your closest friends - grab your toothbrush and a map. It's time you did.

Our last road trip led us to the town of Crossville, Tenn. where we stayed in my good friend's family cabin. Crossville is a town where the Great Smoky Mountains and magnificent waterfalls collide with restaurants like The Bean Pot with a sign outside that reads: "Full Family Dinning (yes, spelled with two N's) Open Forever."

We would hike all day and then head to The Bean Pot to stuff our bellies full of corn dogs and waffles and chocolate milkshakes and pull BBQ pork sandwiches at night. We would stay up until 3 a.m. drinking a few beers out on the deck that overlooked the lake and the docks and play cards and laugh and talk. We would then tumble into beds and sleeping bags or couches and floors and get up five hours later because, well, we had some more hiking to do.

Each of our cars had a walkie-talkie (a good investment, even if you plan on taking a road trip just once with your friends) which made for wonderful bantering back and forth and became extremely helpful during the many times we were completely, and utterly (despite what the guys said) lost.

The walkie-talkies also came in handy during our hikes, especially when two of our friends got it into their heads that they were going to jump off one of the waterfalls rather than just play in it. We had friends at the top of the waterfall with walkie-talkies and friends at the bottom, checking the depth of the ice-cold water with long branches borrowed from the trees.

The waterfall, Cane Creek Falls, is 80 feet high and is the same waterfall Mowgli jumped off of in Walt Disney's 1994 version of the Jungle Book. Despite all my (rather loudly) voiced concerns, my two extremely stubborn, yet insanely brave, friends jumped as Mowgli did while I watched through the gaps in my fingers. One jump was perfect and graceful. The other; well, later she found out she had a broken tail bone and her summer would be spent wearing pants due to the bruising on her legs. But still, she made the decision, and she jumped, and she will forever remember the moment and the way friends dove in to get her and the way we all cheered and how much fun, despite the pain, it really was.

My friends really are wonderful. They are the type of people who dive into skin prickling ice cold water to pull someone to safety simply because that someone wanted to jump. They are the type of people who offer a hands up when you can't (or really can, but are just too scared) make that next step up a rather steep rock. They are the type of friends who, when going to the kitchen for a beer, bring back a beer for everyone. They are the type of friends who make road trips so much fun.

Find those wonderful friends of yours and start planning. Or better yet, don't plan. Just go. Because as much as we love Athens and Ohio University, sometimes we just need to get away. And nothing beats standing under a roaring waterfall with your best friends. So pack your bags and get out of here. Just be safe and have fun.

Gebhart is a senior, magazine journalism major. She can be reached at kg403597.