White water rafting was awesome! We checked into
OWL Rafting at 8:30am, had about a 20 minute safety briefing at 9am, and were loaded on the bus at 10am to drive to the top of the river. The whole rafting ride took about 5 hours. Hubby and I each rented a wet suit jacket for $5 a piece and I wasn't the slightest bit cold. Some people had only their cotton t-shirt to wear and froze for most of it. The water was warm and the temperature was about 25°C, although the sun was hiding behind the clouds.
We floated down the Ottawa River in a 12-man raft. The river runs right between the Ontario and Quebec provinces. We hit the biggest rapid first. Actually we hit it 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. ;) The other rapids weren't quite as big, but were still loads of fun. Our raft didn't tip at all. A couple other 12-man rafts lost the occaisonal person on the big waves. There was an 8-man raft that tipped almost everytime it went through a rapid. I don't think the 8-man had rope handles inside to hang onto like our 12-man did. The 8-man was also smaller and the guide hit the rapids just right to add to the fun. Our rafting guide was the leader so we went through first everytime. It was really funny to turn back and watch the other rafts lose people or to see the 8-man tip. There were times where they let us jump out of the raft to float with the current for a few hunder meters. We stopped for a quick snack (hubby and I had an apple because all the granola bars were already taken) just past halfway. We parked our rafts at the edge of a 20ft cliff called "Lemming's Cliff" and climbed to the top. They explained how to jump off, then let everyone have a chance to jump. Hubby and I didn't jump. I was a little scared, but I could have been easily talked into it... I just didn't feel like it.
Lemming's Cliff was the last of the big thrills. Shortly after we were met by a small boat that pulled us over to the pontoon boat. It was about 3:30pm when we boarded the pontoon. They had hot BBQ'd chicken, cold rice salad, tossed salad, buns, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and beer waiting to appease our appetites. The pontoon ride took about 40 minutes to take us back to the camp.
There was a camp guide in a kayak who had been filming us for the whole rafting trip. When we got back to the camp they played the video of us. We were going to buy the DVD for *cough* $35 plus tax, but I think I recognized us maybe 3 times on the video. It just didn't seem worth it. Hubby and I each had a single-use water camera and we used up the film on both cameras, so we'll have those pictures for our memories.
It was a great time. We both really enjoyed ourselves. I think we'll have to do this again next year, except next time we'll stay for the night and go white water rafting 2 days in a row. They have cabins and a tenting area. When you buy the 2 day pass you get breakfast, go rafting all day, have the BBQ lunch on the pontoon, and a steak dinner later that night. The second day is similar, except you have to check out before the steak dinner. Everyone, including people with 1 day passes (like me and my husband), are allowed to use all the camp facilities (beach volleyball, horse shoes, beach area, kayaks, canoes, sauna, & hot showers). My husband says that next time we go we are taking the 8-man raft, but that idea makes me a little nervous. lol
We left right after they played the movie, and didn't get home until 6:30pm yesterday. We were going to make tea & hot chocolate, take baths, and maybe watch some TV or a movie. Yeah right!! lol I fell asleep on the couch at 8pm and went right to bed. Hubby followed me a few minutes later. All that fresh air knocked us out! It was a blast though! ;)
We originally planned to go rafting today, but the weather called for rain. I am glad hubby changed our reservations because it is raining and gloomy outside right now. Yesterday was the perfect weather to be out in.
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pendo is left with 72 days of Paid Account time that he can transfer to another user. He has set up a fun competition to find someone to gift the Paid Account time to.
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timeasmymeasure
