My idea of "roughing it" is staying at a motel that doesn't have cable television.

So when sports editor Ben Jones informed me that he had chosen me for an outdoors trip, which would later be dubbed the "Tar River Odyssey," I was taken back a bit to say the least.

"I'm going to do what?" I asked Ben.

Like he often does, Ben assured me that everything would be fine and this odyssey would be a great opportunity for me.

But I was born in New York City and lived there for a third of my life. Then I moved to Raleigh. I don't know anything about the outdoors, much less canoeing and camping.

I'm not a complainer either, so I took my assignment like a city boy. I met with my colleague, Zach Ahmad, a Coloradan, who would accompany me on the trip, and we began to plan our next move.

Boy, did Zach scare me.

From the initial meeting we had with David Griffin, director of Outdoor Recreation for the city of Rocky Mount, Zach was gung-ho about having a chance to canoe the Tar River. After Griffin mapped out what he felt would be a decent amount of canoeing for two days, Zach actually asked him if he felt that would be enough. Zach was worried about "getting the experience."

Are you kidding me? Eight hours of paddling sounds like plenty to me. I've already graduated from college. I wasn't trying to earn a master's degree in canoeing.

When we actually got out on the water, Zach, who I was counting on with my life, decided he wanted to take a photo. The only problem was that he couldn't paddle while doing so. Our canoe got stuck in the very first rapid we encountered.

But Zach helped us through this obstacle and many more. Pretty soon, after I learned how to paddle and find my comfort zone, I too engaged more in the scenery of the Tar River and the opportunity to see parts of the Twin Counties like few others have.

That was until I lost my breakfast (I told you I was a city boy). After three hours of paddling, I began to feel nauseous. Technically, I didn't eat breakfast that morning, and I told Zach I wasn't feeling too well. You're welcome, Tar River fish.

We stopped. I ate lunch and began to feel much better. Feeling like a new person, I waved and engaged in conversation with fishermen we paddled past. I munched on Zach's favorite snack, gorp, which is made of peanuts, M&M's, raisins and granola.

That night, I camped out and slept in a tent for the first time. After a day of paddling, I was more than ready to rest (what else was I going to do without lights or any reading material?)

While I enjoyed my experience more than I would have thought, I was definitely ready to head back home and sleep in my own bed. No more bugs or bug spray.

I am sincere in saying that this was an experience I'll never forget. But at the same time, my next odyssey will include a hotel with hot water, room service and enough television channels to make my stay feel like home.