As we move towards a household that does not create waste, we have had to evaluate our gift giving activities. It is challenging to change from being a consumer to a conserver when your 8-year-old grand daughter’s birthday is approaching and she wants stuff. 
We decided to give her the gift of our time and take her camping, kayaking, and fishing. She loves to fish. We reserved a campsite at Devils Fork State Park in South Carolina and she and our grandson joined us for a weekend adventure.
John and I have been boaters for a very long time. Between the two of us, we have been on a lot of water. I was stunned by Lake Jocassee. It is crystal clear. It is very very deep. It can be very treacherous. We set up camp on Wednesday and explored before the young explorers arrived. 
The lake is breath-taking. It is so large it shares a lot of characteristics you would see in the ocean. I was very glad to be in our ocean kayaks. They handled the chop beautifully.
We paddled to the edge of one of the park boundaries, according to the map we had. There is so much more to see. We saw a couple of streams coming into the lake. There are some waterfalls you can paddle too but we did not have enough time to make that journey. Next time..
My granddaughter said it was the “best birthday ever!” That was a gift to us. Time is so precious. Gifting it is priceless.
