16 Aug 2000.  Three cheers to our own Gene Geiger!! Thanks for putting the reunion together. Nana would be very proud of the way you kept your promise to her. She wanted you to keep the family together and you have not let her down.

My favorite activity, as I did not do any horse back riding, was the white water rafting. The Geiger Clan occupied 3 rafts including the biggest one! My raft, however, by far, had the prettiest guide. She was able to deal with yours truly and Rob Filosa in the same raft. We also had Irene (my mom) in our raft. We all were proud of mom. She always managed to fall towards the center of the raft and, hence, never left the boat of other than her own accord.

We also had Louise and Doreen and Gregory in our raft. For me, the high point of the trip was seeing Louise (my wife) get literally ejected from the raft. She was in front with Doreen on the right side, when, suddenly, Doreen's left side dipped into a large eddy behind the large rock that pushed the right side, along with Louise, up and to the left. This had the effect of dumping Doreen into the eddy and catapulting Louise over her! It was a sight to see. I immediately tried to get her but she was quickly carried down river with a smile on her face. Rob had similar luck trying to get Doreen out of the water. Doreen claims Rob was trying to feed her the paddle in accordance with our guides instructions!

The biggest surprise was cousin Holly, though! Even after I told here they only lost 6 people this year in the rapids (a tall tale), she got into her raft and braved the white water. When we got to the swimming hole, she was one of the first ones (behind yours truly) to climb the HUGE and HIGH rock and JUMP off into the black water below. Everyone was wondering who would go first. In a hushed silence, all you could hear was the babbling river, Holly stepped up to the cliff like edge of the rock. As we all held our breath, she swung her arms back and feigned her first attempt. As she reconsidered her plan, we all began to yell encouragement to her.

Finally, in an act of pure willpower, Holly leaped into the air, soaring eagle-like and, for a split second, at the apex of her upward arcing jump, she seemed to stop in midair, as if she would stay there forever. Then, gravity quickly gained hold of this fantasy jump and dragged her down into the inky black waters. We all stared in rapt attention, looking at the bubbling spot where Holly had just descended into the depths wondering if she would ever find her way to the surface again. After what seemed like an eternity, but really was only a second or so, Holly broke the surface looking completely surprised - perfectly mirroring our expressions, I'm sure!

Well, after that, everyone else felt it was safe to go. We had every reason to doubt, though. Various estimates put the height of the Jump off point at somewhere between 50 and 100 feet high (depending upon how the jumper was). This is know as the fear factor. It's similar to the"wind chill factor in that it refers to how high it seems to be, rather than how high it actually is!

All the little and younger cousins had a great time getting to know each other. Many of the 2nd cousins had never met before! Many of my 1st cousins- once-removed I had only met once before when they were 5 or younger. Indeed, the last time I saw Katelyn, Nana was bouncing a baby girl on her knee saying, Katie did, Katie, did! It was really scary to see Jason and Adam. Those two are grown men now! Makes me feel like I better get on with the fun stuff, while I still can! And Jacqueline quite the photographer, tennis player, soccer player, basketball player...is there anything this cousin does NOT DO WELL?

While the kids played, there were several excursions on horse back to some really beautiful spots. Debbie went back 3 times. You'd think she lived in the suburbs or something and never got a chance to ride! Yup, that's it! Debbie even got on the inline skates as the horses did not go fast enough for her! That went well until, as it was reported to yours truly, Debbie was afraid she would get a speeding ticket and decided to pull off the road into the grass, which quickly stopped her skates before her body came to rest. This had the effect of toppling Debbie into the grass in a less than graceful manner, but it was still a lot of fun!

In fact, that about sums it up for everyone! We all had lots of fun. Even the little babies, and there were quite a few really young ones. I finally got to see my littlest cousin, Ben James (Jim and Karen) and he was really cute. He was the youngest, followed by Brent (Doreen and Rob), and then Jake and Abby (Jackie and Dan).

I really enjoyed catching up with cousins and spouses I have not seen in years. I would have really liked to give Holly the whipping I owe her at the ping pong table, but, alas, it will have to wait until she gets up the courage to come to Cary for a visit and rematch! (Yes, this is a challenge, chicken, buck-buck-buck-baaawk!). Next time we get together, we may have to say, "here comes the judge," when we see Bruce. That will be fine for Rob, as he is used to that sort of thing! I really enjoyed discussing the finer points of practical law the Bruce and Rob. I think I learned something, but I am not sure I like what I learned!

For most, the trip home was uneventful, but for some, the winding roads got the best of their equilibrium. I am told that poor Abby gave new meaning to the phrase, blowing chunks! We had to stop and let Matthew get his eyeballs focused in the same direction, too. After that, we missed an exit and added 2 hours to our trip home! It was an adventure and, if I were to be philosophical about it, a learning experience. There's nothing like experiencing long stretches of what otherwise would have simply been thick blue lines on our map!