Day 1 of Three Day North Carolina Beginner Whitewater Kayak Trip

My first day kayaking in the North Carolina mountains finds me in Fontana lake. It's okay because there is the anticipation of the following two days which will be on the Tuckaseegee and Nantahala, two rivers with real whitewater. I am participating in a 3 day instructional whitewater kayak trip.

It was amusing on Fontana lake; there was a mutiny of sorts. The intention was for our two instructors to help us with general paddling skills, but the anxiety about rolling in rapids caused us to start working on rolls when we were away from the instructors.

We camped which would have been fine except for our location less than 50 feet from the highway. During the night I was jolted awake at one point by a jet airplane landing on my tent. I literally jumped up on my knees preparing to escape the situation and then covered my head with my hands to protect myself from the impact. The engine noise was so loud, the landing gear must be only a second or two away from its emergency landing target... my tent.
Eventually I realized it was a truck struggling to make the climb on the highway next to us. Did I mention the highway was less than 50 feet from our campsite?

There were 5 students and 2 instructors on this trip.
All of the students had more experience paddling than me and all but one of the other students had some level of competence with a whitewater roll, but I felt very comfortable in the group.
-Dan