May 19, 2011 ~ Rafting Trip

Pre-Rafting Trip Pictures

On Thursday, we got up and went down to breakfast. There we learned that we would only be able to go on the two hour Rafting Trip down the New River. We were able to go back to the cabins and pack up a small bag of clothes to change into after the we put in to shore before lunch. We went down to the outside ampitheater to learn about rafting. They then passed out our helmet, oar, and life jacket. If we wanted to pay $5.00 we could get a wet suit/wet jacket or a water repellant jacket to wear on the trip. Many of us took advantage of the discounted offer.

The guides broke us into groups of 6 or 7. Each group was assigned a guide and a raft for the day.

 

On the New River

We took school buses to get to Thurmond Rapids. We met our guides and headed to the rafts. One of the hardest things to do was to carry the heavy raft to the shore and put it in the water. We had to wade in holding on to the raft and jump in before it moved away. Boy was that water cold! We headed down the New River all excited about what was ahead. Thurmond Rapids were first and were a nice warm up for what lay ahead. It was lots of fun!

The day was overcast, but it still was beautiful looking over God's creation from the middle of the water instead of from the shore. We did a few more smaller rapids and then the guides let us jump off the rafts into the calm part of the river. Lots of splashing and jumping took place and not just among the kids.

The best was near the end of the trip when we went through Surprise. It was a great time riding the white water. The trip ended after about 2 hours on the water. We put in at a beach and the hardest part was yet to come.

After getting out of the raft, we had to carry the raft to the railed stairwell and pull the raft up to the top of the stairs. That was a great cardio work out.

We were able to change and the guides supplied a very nice picnic lunch of: cold cuts, lettuce, tomato, bread or tortillas, pepperoni rolls ( a West Virginia special), pasta salad, fruit, chips, cookies, pudding, and drinks.

After lunch we went back to the College and had some much deserve free time to take showers, buy snacks, souvenirs and rafting photos. Some decided to take naps. The weather cleared up and the were able to throw a football around outside.

As you can see the adults just sat in the Lodge and enjoyed some down time.

After our break we boarded the bus to eat dinner at Ryan's Steak House. We really enjoyed the smorgasbord at Ryan's!

We all sang to Andy D's for his 12th birthday!.