Water Wars

On Saturday, after having a lovely breakfast with Joel and Veronica at LaBou Bakery, Kev and I joined some friends for a time of rafting on the American River. Our group had four rafts, with 4-6 people in each raft. Because of the protected areas around the American River, it felt like we were in the middle of “nowhere,” even though we were still within Sacramento city limits. Most of the people on this trip were strangers to us. They were all part of a college and career group at another church. As we got into our rafts to float down the river, I anticipated a peaceful, relaxing journey.

NOT.

Within seconds, another boat in our party started attacking us with super soakers. They also had a bucket which they used to dip into the river and fling water at us. My clothes (which I wore over my swimsuit) were instantly drenched. Some of the guys in our boat started attacking back. Pretty soon we were engaged in an all-out Water War. For the first half of our four-hour rafting trip, the war fervently continued. Several times our boat was sabotaged and we were all thrown into the water. In addition to combat with the other boats, we also had to beware of individuals standing on the side of the riverbank spraying us with their water guns. (The people of Sacramento are WILD. That’s what I’ve decided, anyway!) Halfway down the river, after battling some small rapids, we stopped for lunch. I, for one, immensely enjoyed the lunch hiatus. It was great to lay out in the sun, dry myself off and enjoy the summertime breezes.

After lunch, I made sure to crawl inside a “dry boat,” with comrades that weren’t so war-crazed, so I could enjoy peacefully floating down the river without having water sprayed in my face at every turn. Although the Water War was fun, the post-lunch sanity was also nice. Toward the end of our journey, we came upon some multi-million dollar homes perched on cliffs overlooking the river. It was fun to house-watch. And dream . . .