I bet you are wondering why the photo of the cards. Well, I grew up with a deck of cards in my hands because of my dad and the Johnson family. Dad actually learned math by playing cribbage, and by the time he was 4 years old, he was playing cribbage so well that he would call you on any mistakes, or catch you if you tried to cheat. Cribbage is one game the Johnson family has always played.
Between 30 and 40 people have been getting together for the annual Johnson family reunion for nearly 30 years. We always played cribbage, but four years ago, the first annual cribbage tournament was held. A family friend created two cribbage boards in the shape of the Upper Peninsula as the prizes for the winning team. A double elimination bracket was created and name drawings determined the teams. The winning team included the most seasoned cribbage player and the newest attendee who had never played cribbage before. It was a blast! A tournament has been held every year since.
The hand in the photo was one of the best hands this year. It is a 24-point hand, which is a great hand in cribbage. The highest hand you can get is 29 points!
This year, the reunion was held in the mountains in Tennessee. The day after I closed on the sale of my house, I drove six hours to pick up my cousin in Wisconsin and we drove down to Cosby, Tennessee, driving over night. I’m not that great at driving all night, but it was easier with someone else in the car most of the drive.
The way the Johnson reunions work is everyone gathers in the same area and we pick one day for the picnic and tournament. The rest of the days are spent hanging out and checking out the activities in the area. We try to let each other know what kinds of things we are interested in so we can all go together.
This year, a large group of us played Hillbilly Golf in Pigeon Forge. I had never played mini golf on the side of a mountain before! You ride a tram up the side of the mountain and have two courses to choose from, one to the left and one to the right when you step off the tram. You split up to have six people playing a hole.
On one day, a group of us decided to spend a lazy few hours tubing down a river, while another group chose a tumultuous area tubing through rapids.
There were groups of us that went hiking and groups that took off on ATVs, as well as groups who hang out and relaxed.
One evening, I went with a group to a Pirate Show that was incredible! Your dinner was served during the show, one item at a time. And the athleticism of the actors was amazing! There were two teams of pirates who competed in sword fights, walking the plank which was actually diving antics, trampoline acrobatics, climbing and pole antics, as well as rope and ribbon acrobatics. I was mesmerized.
I feel privileged to have an extended family that gets together on an annual basis. All but one of the Johnsons in my dad’s generation is gone now, but even those in the generations under me still want to continue the reunions. Not too many families do this. I’m lucky I landed in mine.