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A group of 21 fathers and sons spent the first half of spring break bonding.

Chris Jackson said there were two cool things about the trip, an Iron Works Ministry adventure,

“The boys got one-on-one time with their dads,” he said. “We had prearranged questions for them, and the dads introduced their sons using terms dealing with their character to put value on character.”

They traveled to the Suwanee River, where they spent four days and three nights on a father-son canoe trip.

During the trip, the group canoed 35 miles down the Suwanee.

“This is our second father-son trip,” Jackson said.

Jackson said that about 30 minutes from the destination they stopped at a truck stop Wendy’s.

“A couple of observant dads recognized legendary football coach Bobby Bowden eating a few tables away,” he said. “He was gracious and even knew about our hometown of Andalusia. We told him his son, Tommy, spoke at The Old School Men’s Meeting not long ago.”

Jackson said that they finally arrived at Gibson Landing, which was their entry point to the Suwanee River.

“I wasn’t there, but I am sure the Lewis and Clark expedition didn’t have as much gear as our crew,” he said. “We loaded and headed down the river. We were fortunate to get our mayhem over with quick. We had not gone 50-yards when one of the dads rolled his new kayak. Fortunately, the only casualty was one rod and reel.”

They had 19 boats in all, he said.

They camped on the riverside.

Jackson said they saw a manatee and some large sturgeon.

On Sunday morning, Jackson said they had their own outdoor church.

“Outdoor worship is always special to me,” he said. “We discussed God’s creativeness. We were all challenged to look for God’s footprints during the day. Frank (Shaffer) brought some wonderful worshipful music along. We were not in our normal church home, but God was there.”

On Monday, they paddled 17 miles to Dowling Park River Camp.

That night, they discussed being a Godly man.