The booze gets it's very own raft!
It's a lazy float down the Sacramento River, no skill needed
Until some drunk chick (moi) jumps in to cool off and is so greased up with sunscreen that she can't pull her slimy body back into the raft. Then, skill would be helpful.
For Labor Day weekend some friends suggested that we go river rafting. Naturally I was all for it, I am like a professional floater. I was even more excited when they told me that we wouldn't be doing the standard Sacramento river float. We were going to go serious river rafting on the Trinity river just west of Weaverville. WooHooo!!!!!
I wasn't quite sure what to expect since I had never been on a "serious" rafting trip before. All I was told was that it was going to cost me $67 (Yikes! I better get a tiny oar dipped in gold key chain for that price!) and that I had to wear "river sandals", no flip flops allowed.
Firstly, "river sandals" are not very attractive. I was irritated that I had to purchase special footwear for a trip that was already going to cost me almost $70, but off to Sports Authority I went. I found a somewhat less hideous version of Tevas, paid $25 for them, and prayed that I would have another excuse to wear them ever. As I was walking back to my car I thought briefly about how owning such a pair of sandals almost dictates that I should drive a Subaru and eat lots of granola. And possibly stop shaving my legs.
Never mind... I never want to wear them again. I like my smooth legs and cheerios for breakfast.
I met up with Candace and Aaron and Josh that morning to head out. We needed to be at the raft rental place by 2:00. The drive was uneventful, aside from crazy motorists, but that's normal.
Does anyone else remember this cartoon??
Once we arrived we were handed life jackets and told to sign in and pay our fees. I was handed a life jacket by an older gentleman with a long white ponytail. He seemed nice enough. Once I attempted to put on the life jacket I realized there was a problem. It was like 87 sizes too large for me. Clearly, old man time thought I was fat. Jerk. I politely asked for a life vest that wouldn't slip over my head in the event that I fall in the water. I wasn't super interested in drowning that day.
Sporting my properly fitting life jacket. Let's go!
Now, there aren't very many pictures of the trip, except for the ones that the rafting company takes of you going through "Hell Hole". None of us wanted to risk getting our cameras or phones wet. But I will assure you that it was a beautiful trip down the river. The water was cold but refreshing. There were a couple slow and calm spots that were ideal for beer drinking, and Aaron and I took full advantage of that. Our guide, Matt, who was gorgeous by the way, gave us all very good instructions and we managed to travel the river with little incident. Except for that whole part about left hand turns that Aaron and I clearly did not pay attention during since when he shouted "Left Turn!!" we both just looked at each other as though we knew we should be doing something specific but could not remember what it was. Candace and Josh were better students and knew exactly what they were supposed to do which resulted in us spinning in a circle, haha!
There was a short stop at some tall rocks that everyone jumped off of except for me. I don't do heights. No way Jose. But it looked like fun. I just lived vicariously through everyone else. Another short break for chips and dip and more beers. And then it was time to get really wet!
We made it back to the office alive. Soggy, but no worse for wear. We had a good laugh over all the pictures and made a quick stop for pizza at the "Straw House" restaurant across the street. The pizza was bomb.com, I highly recommend it. We had some chicken pesto goodness that was to die for. We made it back to Redding a little after 9pm. I have never slept so soundly.
A giant thank you to the staff at Trinity River Rafting and Serendipity Snapshots for a fun time and the pictures to prove we did it!
Seriously, you should go now. Do it. Ask for Matt, he is yummy. You're welcome ;) Oh wait, I was told some story about how he was being tossed into a volcano the next day, he may not be available anymore....... bummer.
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