Have you ever been camping?
Are you kidding me…
I’m a Gen X kid.
We didn’t call it camping…
that’s what city folks say…
when they do it once in a while.
We called it…
the weekend.
…and sometimes in the summer—
it was just life.
…
Growing up in Georgia…
I didn’t have to go anywhere—
to find it.
I lived on the edge of thick… deep woods…
the kind full of things
that could hurt you.
We weren’t scared…
didn’t matter—
we were in there anyway.
Kids… by ourselves…
no parents…
just dirt… trees… and whatever moved in the shadows.
…
Then there were the weekends…
My friend Chris—
his folks had land on Lake Oconee.
Man… we lived out there.
Tents…
or just sleeping by the fire…
Fishing… boating… skiing… swimming…
Great times.
…
And when I wasn’t there…
I was with my dad… and my uncle…
heading up into the north Georgia mountains…
along the Tallulah River.
We’d drive about 15 miles down a narrow gravel road…
till we hit the river crossing.
Then we’d drive straight through it.
Clear water…
ice cold… even in summer…
on the other side—
was nothing.
No people.
Just us…
and whatever else was out there.
Bears…
Bigfoots…
timber rattlesnakes…
just the locals.
…
We’d set camp right on the water…
Fish all day.
Rainbow… brown…
beautiful native brook trout…
Trout for breakfast—
fish… grits… eggs…
Lunch—
fish sandwich… chips…
Supper—
we went all out…
Grilled or fried fish…
vegetable kabobs…
baked potatoes in the fire…
salad…
We ate like kings out there.
…
I’ve caught so many fish in that river…
I couldn’t even guess the number.
Been going since I was about 7…
I’m 52 now.
Haven’t been in a few years…
Life gets busy…
…but that place is down in me.
…
Some summers…
the riverbanks would glow red—
tiny garnets everywhere.
We’d sift through them…
looking for the bigger ones…
We’d also look for gold…
found some too.
I remember once…
I had a handful of decent-size wild garnets and gold… glistening in my palm
but that place for me—
is more valuable than anything I can hold.
…
Then came Florida…
Lived there for 12 years.
Different world—
same soul.
Many freshwater fishing trips inland…
spent much time at many of the different springs…
…but also the coast…
I lived on Anna Maria Island…
Had a sea kayak.
Weekends…
I’d load up my truck…
drive to Bishop Harbor…
Drop in…
Paddle 45 minutes out
to these tiny… remote islands.
Set up camp.
…
Mornings—
I’d paddle and fish…
Afternoons—
back to camp…
eat… rest… chillax…
Evenings—
back out till dark…
Then nights…
just me…
the fire…
the water…
the sounds…
the wildlife…
Alone…
but not really.
…
Down there…
we call it…
Salt Life.
Had the sticker on my truck and everything.
…
So yeah man…
I’ve been what yall call camping
a few times 😁
…
All jokes aside…
I’m about that life.
It’s in me…
just like music.
…
…
been singing this in my head and on guitar all day…
Me and my buddy Jonathan… fishing in Florida
Jon and I were fishing when 3 huge wild boars walked behind us
…
Romans 1:20
“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
© 2026 bryanforchrist. All rights reserved.
`’.,°~
Heart of Loia `'.,°~ 
Now that is the way we did it back in the 50’s and 60’s. Camped on the Illinois river every weekend of the warm months. Fished all day and night too. Nice photos.
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Oh Yeah.. thats the way to do it. its such a blessing to have grown up like that… makes you appreciate so much as an adult… I’ve done this sorta stuff my entire life… except last handful of years… but I hope to get back to it soon… thank you for checking it out.
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Enjoy when you do get back to it.
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Indeed I will… thank you.
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Have been camping…yup, gotta call it that with where I am from, lol. Kinda cool, but don’t know if I could do it all the time. I am a city girl and a beach girl, not an in the woods girl.
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Haha yeah I hear ya 😁 everybody can’t be woods people… we gotta have city folks too. balance stuff out lol.
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Exactly
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Love the poem and the images.
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That’s so cool! I’m glad. Thank you… I appreciate it.
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reminds me a bit of New Hampshire
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Yes it’s very similar… New Hampshire is beautiful too… I just love the Appalachians… I’ve been all through them… one end to the other… thanks for checking it out.
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Love this my friend! All of it!
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That’s great! I’m glad. Thank you… this one brought back all the memories… from Boyz II Men… not the singin’ group 😁
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I know you like all music but somehow I don’t take you as a Boyz II Men fan lol…
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Oooo I’m about to blow your mind then 😄… I absolutely love them… and…………… you name any one of their songs and I can cover it acoustic style… just me n my guitar… I often sit around and practice them… I’ve actually been working on a real cool version of “Ooh Ahh” 😁… I love love love this genre… not just them… but many other similar artists I also love and cover 😎💣💥
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That’s exciting! I love them. Believe it or not I think they actually sound better with age. I caught them on some show a few months back and I was blown away as to how good if not better they still sound!!
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Oh yeah… they still sound supergood if not better… I had them on shuffle like 2 weeks ago… I listened for like 3 hours… but I didn’t realize like how many covers they have… ones that I heard anyway… but like the beatles… hall n oats… goo goo dolls… just to name a few… there’s many more that I know of… and probably some that I don’t.
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Oh God Hall and Oats. I remember we talked about Daryl Hall a few months ago. Anyway I was on a Hall and Oats tear last week. I could not stop when I was driving!!
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Yeah thats why I mentioned it… I remember us talking about it… I so love them… ima have to go on a tear also soon lol… b2m does Sara Smile…
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More rabbit holes…so Kenny Chesney and his crew have this “Mimosa Sunday” tradition and they play Sara Smile at the end and sing. It is incredible to hear them singing along to H&O.
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Ooo wow that’s cool! I’m learnin’ much from you about Kenny n’ friends 😁
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great photos Bryan – thanks for sharing! and some great catches too! Mike
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Thanks man! I appreciate it. I’m glad you like it… hey, I’ve tried to check out your blog many times… but when I click on you, nothing happens… also when I try and type you in and search… I find nothing?
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oh man thanks for letting me know Bryan! i really appreciate it. I did some stuff to my site and I may have toggled settings that I shouldn’t have toggled. again, thanks so much! i changed my url and i think my avatar was linking the staging site and not the real one.
here’s the new and permanent URL: moderatelivingblog.com
thanks again Bryan!
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You’re welcome man… awesome I’m on it 🙌😁… I’ll go through it later and check it out
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Oh ok… it says now that you deleted your blog?
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Really Nice post… And those photos are amazing…
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Thanks brother… this prompt was a good one… brought back many memories… had me lookin’ through old photos and videos 😁
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I can tell… Those are the best prompts, when we are bale to reflect back…
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Yeah definitely… I don’t do the prompts always… but every once in a while… one comes along and gets me thinkin’ …
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Sounds like you did a lot of fun activities… and great photography! Lovely post.
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Yeah… in hindsight… it was a lot of fun… thank you so much. Glad you enjoyed it.
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