They call it 'Toobing'

Fun trips don't always end up...

as fun as you may have hoped.

Take, for example, our... challenging trip to the river a few weeks ago.  What should have been a nice, relaxing, gentle float downstream turned into a nightmare.

Of course, that's my view on it.  Me, who feels like the world is falling apart if a fly looks at her wrong (part of why I'm in therapy- breathing techniques WORK, people!).

Let's take a quick look at what happened:

We were bringing the girl, so we wanted to find a float for her.  Aunt T and I spent the preceding evening searching all around town for one, only to be informed that because in other parts of the country, fall is fast approaching, TEXAS store are no longer carrying swimming accessories.  I mean, really?  We find one on the way down to the river... air it up. and she would much rather just hang out in our tubes with us.  Great way to spend $20, if you ask me.

There's a rather quick chute at the beginning of this float.  We knew we wouldn't take the girl on it, but Unca Roo and Aunt T wanted to do it, of course.  Well, sometimes, this chute can drag you of your tube and under the water.  Unca Roo almost drowned early in our trip due to this.  Fun!

The only way to get past this chute was to get out just before it, and back in IMMEDATELY after.  So after climbing out... with 2 tubes, 2 coolers, and a baby in tow... we climb down back into the water. P went first, and took the girl into his lap, seeing as we were literally climbing in at the very bottom of the chute (where there was still rushing water!)  He, the girl, and a tube containing a cooler got sucked into the current and rushed away... The girl LOVED it.  She laughed and laughed as they swirled across the top of the waves.  P held on to her for dear life.  We lost our shoes.

Yeah. You read that right.  You see, we had all our shoes in a mesh bag that was tied to P's tube- and when that current hit him, it ripped that bag right off the rope.  3 pairs of shoes (Aunt T had water shoes on, smart girl!!) gone. Just like that.  And let me tell you, the sidewalk on the way to the bus when the float was done was HOT!

After the chute we were in for what we thought would be a great day... hanging out with good friends, relaxing, getting some fun in the sun.  What we forgot about was that there was yet another rough current ahead... that if you went one way, you were fine... but chancing the waterfall meant danger.

Ok, ok, *I* forgot that.  To be fair, however, I couldn't have gotten to easy mode if I had tried.  It was just too late.  I went over the falls... along with the attached cooler.  Consequently, I was flipped off my raft and swept downstream- I couldn't even get my footing, the current was that strong.  I was scared!  And, wouldn't you know it, there were  some kind (cough cough) teenagers at the base of the waterfall that held onto the tube for me- kept it right there, at the base of the falls.

Remember how I said I couldn't get my footing?  Yeah, I never really did.  Eventually the kids let the tube go- but not before opening the cooler and taking the beer, letting the girl's juice, wipes, and Aunt T's glasses float to goodness knows where.

That was a *really* expensive trip, don't you think?