Did the Chocolate Fountain Live Up to the Hype?

The next item we tackled on our list was a visit to Golden Corral. You've seen the ads: kids laughing, dad gorging, mom smiling, and, of course, cotton candy and a chocolate fountain. Or as Jackson calls it, "The Chocolate Wonderfall of Hope and Goodness...and Diabetes."

Starting with the Wonderfall...honestly, we were a little underwhelmed. First of all, they say it looks like this:



Which it might, in a studio photo shoot. But under fluorescent lights behind a plexiglass sneeze shield, it's a little less impressive. Add in the fact that who knows how many little kids have stuck their fingers in it... Well, some things you just have to ignore. I mean, IT'S A CHOCOLATE WONDERFALL OF HOPE AND GOODNESS! Sometimes, you just have to go for it.

Going back to the beginning, we were rather impressed when we walked in. So many different kinds of food. I was thinking we should make an effort to try everything. If we had done that, we'd still be there.

Best food: fresh grilled steak.
Best dessert: rice crispies treat dipped into the CWOHAG
Best vegetable: yeah, right.

Best conversation topic: We came up with a plan to interview about half a dozen successful business people I know about their career and their faith. Another blog post about those is coming for sure.

Did we have a good time? Yeah, think so.

Playing Golf on a Mountaintop

There is a golf course outside of Chattanooga called the Montlake Country Club. It is an interesting course, because it wraps around one of the nicest places to boulder in the Southeast, Stone Fort (AKA LRC, or Little Rock City). We've climbed there several times, and Jackson has always wanted to play golf on the course itself, so onto the list it went!

Spring Break provided the perfect opportunity for us - a group of families from the climbing gym, led by my friend and fellow coach Ike Eisenstadt, headed up to Foster Falls, west of Chattanooga, for a camping and climbing trip. We would be within an hour of Stone Fort and Montlake.


The camping was a disaster. We got there on Thursday, set up our tents, went into the Foster Falls area to climb a bit, and the skies opened. By the time we got back to the tent, it was flooded and all our clothes and sleeping bags were soaked. Rain was a theme for the weekend. After a night in a hotel, we went to Dayton, where the walls were overhanging enough that we could climb in the rain if necessary.

Finally, Saturday morning, Jackson, his friend Dylan and his dad Wes and I headed out to Montlake Country Club for a round of golf. The course and boulder area sits on top of a mountain in Soddy Daisy, north of Chattanooga. We rented clubs and headed out on the course, the boys driving the golf carts, of course. The day was mostly cloudy, but we had some sunshine on the first few holes. By the fifth hole, though, it was on and off again rain the rest of the way. But who cares? We were having a blast!

Dylan and Wes only lasted 9 holes, and they went to climb. Jackson wanted to play the whole course - 18 holes was on the list, and 18 holes was what we were going to play. The course had some really fun holes. Number 5 was basically hitting off a short cliff onto the green. Several holes had boulders in the middle of the fairway, and many had them along the sides. (A boulder, by the way, isn't just a big rock - these were 8-15 feet tall and sometimes 20 feet or more across.)

How high does a golf ball bounce when your iron shot hits a boulder? Pretty darn high! 

Just ask Jackson.

I am so thankful for this experience. We have talked about this since the first time we went there, and we got to play the course. Rented clubs, rain, aerated fairways and greens and all, we had fun. On top of it all, I shot my best front 9 holes ever. The back 9? Well, the weather was getting kind of rough and we were kind of tired and...

Jackson's thoughts on this one are coming.

Shooting Guns

The adventure officially began today!

Jackson and I went to East Orange Shooting Sports at the invitation of my buddy Blaine from church. He took Kimberly and I there last month, along with his wife. Ever since then he's been telling me to bring Jackson and we'd go shooting.

We stopped by WalMart on the way to pick up some ammo, and then headed to the range. On the way I told Jake that I knew he was going to hear it again, but there was some safety stuff I wanted him to remember. We filled out the paperwork, got the safety speech from the staff (#2), put on our safety glasses and ear protection and headed into the range with Blaine.

Blaine started unloading gun cases: a .22, .40, .45 and Glock 9mm handgun. Then he went over the safety stuff again (#3) and we started shooting stuff! We were in the rifle range part of the shooting range, and somebody had a big gun in there. Jackson and I almost jumped out of our skins the first time we heard it.

We had a blast (pardon the pun) shooting the guns. I think we both liked the 9mm the best. Blaine got the rifle out at the end, and that was fun too. We pushed the target out as far as it would go, and we were pretty accurate with the scope on it and all. All in all, a really, really fun day.

Our first item done! 29 to go...

Blaine, Jackson and Dad

 

Jackson with Blaine, His "Firearms Mentor"

The List is finally complete!

Well, our list of 30 things is finalized (for now).

Looking at the list, we realized there are three categories of items:

• Events - something we want to go to together; games, etc.
• Experiences - something that is new, or that we learn or grow together doing
• Activities - everything else, in a way.

Here's the list broken down by category:

Events

1. Attend a concert together
2. Attend a Harlem Globetrotters game
3. Go to an Orlando Magic game
4. Go to a NASCAR race
5. Go to a Red Sox Spring Training Game

Experiences

1. Go snowboarding
2. College road trip to Boston
3. 2 day complete fast (water only)
4. Have a REAL Christmas tree
5. Learn how to surf
6. Do a home improvement project together
7. Meet someone famous
8. Go on a mission trip or build a Habitat house
9. Take a seminary class together
10. Read a book together with another father and son

Activities

1. A movie marathon
2. Go to the batting cages
3. Beat dad at basketball (not gonna happen, signed, Dad)
4. Cici’s Pizza Eating Contest
5. Drink Mixing Contest (non-alcoholic, of course)
6. Crazy 5K/Obstacle Course Race
7. Father-son cooking (will include butterbeer attempt)
8. Football playing/watching party
9. Shoot guns
10. Go wild at Entenmanns (a “day-old” bakery shop)
11. Learn how to surf
12. Play paintball
13. Play 18 holes at Montlake Golf Course (Stone Fort, Chattanooga)
14. Tri-generational Go Karts
15. Go to Golden Corral – Can you say “Chocolate Fountain”?

30 Things - A Father-Son "Bucket List"

...
from Brett (dad)

I came to the realization a few weeks ago that my son, halfway through his sophomore year in high school, had about 30 months to go until he graduated. Soon after that, he will be gone - off to college, maybe never to live with us full time again. (A parent can dream, right?)

I was struck by how many places in my life I have good intentions, but I don't always follow through. I don't want to drop my son off at college with a bucketful of regrets - things I wished we had done, experiences I wished we had shared. So I set about to be intentional about mazimizing the time I have left with son living in my home as a teenager.

Another factor that I quickly needed to take into account is how different we are! I could think of something off the top of my head with my daughter, and she would likely say, "I was just thinking of that too!" But my son and I have very different temperaments and personalities. Thankfully, we both love Jesus and want to serve him. We just see the world differently sometimes. I've learned to embrace that - but that is another post for another time.

So, how could I be intentional about getting the most out of my time with my son, do it in a way that had the highest likelihood of actually happening, and do things that HE would really want to do, as opposed to what I think he should like to do!?!?

So here is what I came up with: 30 Things in 30 Months - A "Bucket List" for My Son's Remaining Years in High School. To be honest, I'm pretty sure the movie, The Bucket List and the TV show My Name is Earl influenced me, but who cares?

So I told him about the idea and -- here's the genius --  I put him in charge. I asked him to make a list of 30 things he'd like to do with me before he graduates from high school. In 3 days, he had 25. I'm sure it will go beyond 30, and we'll whittle it down.

Some things I was happy to see on the list - college road trip to Boston (where I grew up) and snowboarding. Some surprises to: he wants to find another father-son duo to read a Christian book together and meet weekly to talk about it.

I'm so grateful God whispered this idea in my ear (He uses all kinds of tools to speak to His kids). And I'm excited that my son pounced on the idea.

Now, my prayer is for follow through, and for finances - the kid's got some expensive ideas. But I am trusting God to provide these opportunities for meaningful experiences that my son (and I) can look back on in the years and decades ahead.

I'll post the list as soon as we have it. Maybe I'll include the things that didn't make the list as well.

I'm looking forward to this Great Adventure with my son!