Jimmy and I packed up his car and headed south toward Maryland for our rafting trip.
We got pulled over in Maryland for speeding, prompting the strangest traffic stop I've ever been a part of. The officer came to my side and asked for our information and then proceeded to have Jimmy come talk to him at his police car. He sent him back to the car and had him send me back to talk to him. He asked me about where we were going, what campsite we were staying at and if I had ever been rafting before. Strange questions. Then he asked about how we knew each other and so on.. it seemed like a training exercise.
He eventually sent me back to the car and had us wait for a while before coming out and issuing Jimmy a warning and told us to slow down. It was a very odd experience.
We got to the rafting place and signed our liability forms. The people at the office were really friendly. Tracy, Mike and Tina showed up shortly after us and we went down to meet Shane, our guide, to get our gear.
We had to wait a while for Brian Nero Nero to show up before we could suit up and leave. Once we were all in vests and helmets we got on a bus and endured some bad jokes on the short ride down to the river.
We got a short safety talk and then hopped in the raft and got out on the river. We learned the commands for paddling and practiced a bit before we headed out.
We jumped in the river and swam around a bit before climbing back on the boat and heading down the river.
We hit a few areas with rapids but nothing very crazy. There was only one instance where I felt a little out of control. It was mostly smooth sailing.
We stopped at a rocky section and got off the rafts for some drinks and a ride in the river.
We walked down the rocks and jumped in the water to ride the roughest part of the river. That was the best part of the rafting and we weren't even in a raft. We each did it twice. It's a lot of fun just letting the river take you.
We hung out on the rocks for a while longer before we got ready to depart. The scenery along the river was great.
We hopped back in our raft and made the short trip to the shore where we got out and headed back up to catch the bus. It was a fun trip but I wish it were longer and more difficult. Maybe next time! I almost lost my camera when we got back to the lodge but I found it in the helmet bucket.
We found an Olive Garden and went for dinner. We waited in the bar until a table opened up and then got our endless pasta on. I managed to eat three bowls this time but I didn't have much soup or breadsticks so I guess I had more room. Jimmy had a hard time with his. Since it was Tracy's birthday the waitress presented her with a giant handful of Andes mints at the end of our meal!
We headed off to find our lodging for the night on a dark back road with this creepy sign out front.
Once we figured out the parking we went to our treehouse. It wasn't in a tree but it's on stilts.. The inside had wooden bunks to sleep on.
We searched for some wood and I started a fire. It grew to a nice size and we sat back and enjoyed the nice night around the campfire. Tracy put on some music and I took some pictures. We had to search for wood a few times but it was a mostly relaxing time.
The day was awesome fun and I'm glad we decided to do it. The bunk was actually quite comfortable to sleep on and I passed out pretty quickly in my sleeping bag.
Jimmy and I packed up his car and headed south toward Maryland for our rafting trip.
We got pulled over in Maryland for speeding, prompting the strangest traffic stop I've ever been a part of. The officer came to my side and asked for our information and then proceeded to have Jimmy come talk to him at his police car. He sent him back to the car and had him send me back to talk to him. He asked me about where we were going, what campsite we were staying at and if I had ever been rafting before. Strange questions. Then he asked about how we knew each other and so on.. it seemed like a training exercise.
He eventually sent me back to the car and had us wait for a while before coming out and issuing Jimmy a warning and told us to slow down. It was a very odd experience.
We got to the rafting place and signed our liability forms. The people at the office were really friendly. Tracy, Mike and Tina showed up shortly after us and we went down to meet Shane, our guide, to get our gear.
We had to wait a while for Brian Nero Nero to show up before we could suit up and leave. Once we were all in vests and helmets we got on a bus and endured some bad jokes on the short ride down to the river.
We got a short safety talk and then hopped in the raft and got out on the river. We learned the commands for paddling and practiced a bit before we headed out.
We jumped in the river and swam around a bit before climbing back on the boat and heading down the river.
We hit a few areas with rapids but nothing very crazy. There was only one instance where I felt a little out of control. It was mostly smooth sailing.
We stopped at a rocky section and got off the rafts for some drinks and a ride in the river.
We walked down the rocks and jumped in the water to ride the roughest part of the river. That was the best part of the rafting and we weren't even in a raft. We each did it twice. It's a lot of fun just letting the river take you.
We hung out on the rocks for a while longer before we got ready to depart. The scenery along the river was great.
We hopped back in our raft and made the short trip to the shore where we got out and headed back up to catch the bus. It was a fun trip but I wish it were longer and more difficult. Maybe next time! I almost lost my camera when we got back to the lodge but I found it in the helmet bucket.
We found an Olive Garden and went for dinner. We waited in the bar until a table opened up and then got our endless pasta on. I managed to eat three bowls this time but I didn't have much soup or breadsticks so I guess I had more room. Jimmy had a hard time with his. Since it was Tracy's birthday the waitress presented her with a giant handful of Andes mints at the end of our meal!
We headed off to find our lodging for the night on a dark back road with this creepy sign out front.
Once we figured out the parking we went to our treehouse. It wasn't in a tree but it's on stilts.. The inside had wooden bunks to sleep on.
We searched for some wood and I started a fire. It grew to a nice size and we sat back and enjoyed the nice night around the campfire. Tracy put on some music and I took some pictures. We had to search for wood a few times but it was a mostly relaxing time.
The day was awesome fun and I'm glad we decided to do it. The bunk was actually quite comfortable to sleep on and I passed out pretty quickly in my sleeping bag.
No comments:
Post a Comment