Today was a new and exciting day for me. Not only have I been vacationing in the dirrrty south, but I had a throw back experience that I think I have been missing in my life. While exploring the intricacies of Chattanooga, the heat became too much to bear, so I ventured to the local swimming hole. Now when I say swimming hole, I don't mean the country club pool or even, gasp, the public pool. No, swimming hole actually means a hole with water in it. This first required driving to the top of a mountain (in a car where the driver was putting a contact in while the co-pilot steered and shot bottle rockets and Roman Candles out the window into oncoming traffic), then a 15 minute hike through the woods which I could not have recreated if my life depended on it after which we finally came upon our holy grail: Rainbow Lake. Now lake is a liberal interpretation, but none the less, it was pretty cool. There was a rope swing that plopped you out into the middle of the hole. I don't know exactly how deep it was, but after our guinea pig host completed a jump without breaking his back, we all were convinced of its safety. Not only was the rope swing functioning, but there was a dam 25 feet above the water. Again, after the water depth was scientifically and accurately tested for safety, we all launched ourselves off the dam dropping a good 30 feet all said and done. I was nervous heading in as I was the only girl and the only northerner, but after a swing and a jump (which took some serious courage) I was feeling right at home. There was even the typical and very necessary naked leap from the dam. We were all concerned about the durability of the nut sack, but rest assured, all reproductive equipment survived the jump unscathed. Eventually we left after thunder signaled imminent rain, and while the trek back to the car was grueling, I felt a vague sense of completeness after having finally jumped from unsafe heights into murky, dirty and most likely unsafely shallow waters all for the sake of the southern experience.
-Amy Starosta
