We’ve booked to go white water rafting this afternoon and so Scott heads to the chiropractor early in the day to see how his neck is getting on. While he’s there I walk to the near-by gas station to buy top-up for our new phone. I walk to three garages none of whom sell “pre-pay” but direct me towards the large Winco supermarket. It’s back where I came from and then even further on, but I step to it, thinking that if I can get this chore out of the way we don’t have to think again about it. I get there, but frustratingly find that even they don’t sell the cards!! It’s crazy to think that in every supermarket, garage and even corner shop in the UK you can buy top-up, yet here it is impossible to pick something up. We’ve already tried topping up using our credit card, but without a zip code we can’t do it this way. Finally Winco give us the directions to Wal Mart and Scott and I drive there on the way back from his appointment which was only half as long as I’d thought, so he’s been sitting around waiting for me!). There we are finally able to buy a voucher and decide to get two so we don’t have to go through this hassle again.
We pick up our first Maccy D’s of the trip for lunch as Lel drives us and Will out for the days rafting trip. We’re rafting down one of the forks of the American River which has some calm areas but good white water and a few spots of really strong rapids. In our raft is the four of us plus Anne our guide and another trainee guide. Scott and I take the splash zone at the front of the raft with Lel and Will behind us. I’m surprised that we don’t actually spend that much time needing to paddle as the current pulls us along. When it comes to white water we take a few strong strokes and with clenched buttocks we make it through.
At the front Scotty and I take most of the splashes as we go down the rapids, but this doesn’t stop Will taking a liking to throwing buckets of water over his big cuz Scott. We get into a few water fights with the other boat that is out alongside ours which we enjoy (because we win). The middle of the day is boiling and the water is cooling rather than cold. This applies especially when jumping in, which Lel and Scott do at the first set of rapids. These are called “Swimmer’s Rapids” because a lot of people choose to jump out here and ride these rapids on their backs in the water rather than on the raft. I’m not 100% confident, so only join them in the water after the rapid, but they both agree it was great fun.
It feels like the trip is soon over, but actually we have been on the river for a good few hours. A few of the rapids were pretty big I thought, with the raft going almost vertical and us all using our foot-straps to cling on. It was a new experience for Scotty and I but really great fun.
Once we get home we all start to nurse our sun burn (it had been a very hot day and we were out in the midday sun, coupled with being in and out of the water meaning our suntan lotion must have been all but washed off) but agree that it was a brilliant time and one that we would do again without hesitation.
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