Our 8 Year Anniversary Adventure

Jer and I had our 8 year anniversary on August 3rd! We decided not to exchange gifts, but to go river rafting instead - and to be honest, it was the BEST decision EVER!!!! We had a blast!! Since Jer had class in the evening on our actual anniversary we headed up North the day after. The rafting spot we had made reservations for is located at Kern River in Sequoia National Forest. The drive only took ~ 2 1/2 hours and we were there around 9 a.m. We had to check in at 10:30 a.m. so we took a little drive through the small town and soaked in the amazing landscape around us.
Once at the location we had to fill out disclaimer forms and than the fun began. We each got a life jacket, headed to the bus with the rafts on a trailer in the back and drove down to Kern river. The unloading part was a blast. 4 rafts, about 6 - 8 people underneath trying to shuffle the raft towards the river ;). Than we got our 20 min. introduction on what to do and what not to do. I almost chickened out... but since there were kids, I decided, heck if they can do it, so can I.
We had a total of 6 boats, 6 people plus one guide in each. Our guard was Darby and we were the last boat to leave as we had all the first aid stuff loaded on our raft. I thought for sure that I would go overboard esp. after I had applied sunscreen to the back of my legs and was told afterwards NOT to. Too late, huh? We had booked the class III trip and it was a mixture between a few blasting waters and floating silently in the river bed. We got instructions on how to hold our paddle, on how to paddle, what the commands mean and off we went. Within minutes we were soaked and laughed... at one point we stopped and we each got to experience the slippery rock - a waterslide on a rock that completely soaked you if you had managed to stay halfway dry till than.... we slid down the rock and boom, blasted in the water. Cold, refreshing, so much fun. We felt like kids... After about 3 hours we had our lunchbreak stop and our guides prepared a fabulous sandwich bar on the back of one of the rafts. 1/2 hour later we were off again for the second part of our trip. The waters were a bit faster, and in between we had the chance to jump out of the raft in the water and just float. We had purchased a waterproof throw away camera, so I can hardly wait to see the pics we took... I will upload probably next week when I get a chance to turn in the roll of film and get it back. We also purchased a CD from the company... at one point they had a guy take pics of all the rafts one after the other... I have to say that this was an experience of a lifetime. I am so ready to head back before the season is over for more... they offer a class IV trip and also an overnight experience with sleeping in a log cabin after day one of rafting and than more rafting the next day. Jer and I already decided that we want to give that a try either this season or definitely next season. The second part of the trip was about 2 hours... We were picked up at our exit point by the bus and after taking the rafts out of the water and loading them on the trailer we were all back on the bus. Our guides one after the other told us jokes, made us sing,.. I felt like I was transformed back to HS doing a fun field trip... An amazing experience, the best anniversary gift ever, tons of bonding and laughing and an unforgettable day all in all. The photo below is a download from the internet... ours will follow once I get the CD from the rafting company (probably in a week or so). Stay tuned!






And if you have never been river rafting before - DO IT!!! It's AMAZING, takes your breath away and it's a ton of fun!!!!