So, LC and I drove over 5 hours south to get away.  Yes, I know, sounds a bit extreme but this is part of my vacation week and it was much needed!  LC made all the arrangements, he is such a doll like that.  He made plans for us to stay at a B&B, a charming little place that was very private and extremely comfortable.  But it was not a time away to be spent sleeping and watching The View all day…the afternoon of our arrival we had an off-road mountain biking adventure.  Four hours of hills, technical maneuvers, splashing through mud, impassable paths where we had to carry our bikes over fallen trees.  Yes, 20 miles of mountainous off-roading where, in the end, I was covered in mud and a few scrapes from tree branches that just wanted to reach out and touch me.  Sounds like fun, right?  Well, it was!  I enjoyed every minute of it and the scrapes will heal and be forgotten about…but the adventure will remain long in my memories!

The following morning, as sore as we were, was not a day of rest even though it was the Sabbath, after all!  Instead, we took part in a 6-hour whitewater rafting journey through class 4 and 5 waves.  If you don’t know what that means, well let me explain.  According to the International Scale of River Difficulty, Class 4 waves are: long rapids; waves high, irregular; dangerous rocks; boiling eddies; best passages difficult to scout; scouting mandatory first time; powerful and precise maneuvering required. Demands expert boatman and excellent boat and good quality equipment.  Class 5 waves are: exceedingly difficult, long and violent rapids, following each other almost without interruption; riverbed extremely obstructed; big drops; violent current; very steep gradient; close study essential but often difficult. Requires best person, boat, and outfit suited to the situation. All possible precautions must be taken.

LC was thrown out of the boat twice and had to be “rescued” where we basically meet him at the end of the rapid where the water is calmer and he ends up floating, trying to stay above the water and away from sharp rocks under the current.  We grab him and pull him back into the boat and paddle to the next rapid.  It was a blast!  Yours truly did not get thrown over…I had done this once before in New Mexico and fell in love with wahitewater then.  It took LC to get me back out on the rapids and it was a tremendously exciting day!

We had 7 people total in the 14-foot raft, including our rafting guide.  The rest of the boat were good ol’ boys from North Carolina, and we were all about the same ages which made it fun.  More photos from LC’s waterproof camera are coming soon!  Here I am mountain biking…