A Wonderful Weekend!

The second week of life in Oregon brought about a wonderful opportunity for a weekend away from home. We've heard so much about how much there is to do in the northwest and this was our chance to get a taste of it.

Ed graciously invited us to join him and his brother, Kirk, for a drive up to WA. There we would meet up with their friend, Matt and his date, and spend a fine Saturday afternoon white water rafting. The day was looking deary and cold as we got closer and closer to our destination. But luck was on our side as the sun popped out of hiding at the last minute and lingered to enjoy the day with us.

After the raft was pumped up, a car had been shuttled to our ending point and we had a quick lesson on what to do, the six of us carried the raft to the river. We piled in, and before the boat was even straightened out we hit our first set of rapids. The river was a definitely a rafters playground. We were tossed and pulled all over the place. It was marvelous! I smiled so much that my teeth dried out and my cheeks got sore.

There were only five paddles along so there was always one person not paddling. We all rotated positions every once and a while so we all got a chance to "ride the bull." Riding the bull was a fun game that Ed taught us. The person without a paddle would sit up on the very nose of the raft, dangling their feet over the edge. All there was to hang onto up there was a thin bungee rope that was secured to the raft. With one hand hanging on for dear life on the rope and the other hand up in the air we had our very own rodeo! It was hilarious to watch the different styles people had up there. Matt, who was steering the raft, made sure the bull rider got their money's worth. He would hit the roughest stuff he could and we all loved it! I laughed so hard when I was up there. If you ever go rafting, you've gotta try it!

Only two people fell overboard and they were quickly pulled back in. We all got quite a bit of water in our faces, but that's part of the immense joy of rafting! Nevertheless, I was SO grateful that Matt had brought an extra dry suite that he let me borrow. I was nice and warm with it.

We were able to do the run twice before dusk settled in and it was time to say goodbye to Matt and Dana and depart. But our adventure was far from over. From the Tieton River we drove over to a cabin on Lake Cushman (on the outskirts of Olympic Natl. Park). The cabin belongs to the principal of Portland Adventist Academy (where Ed and Kirk attended) and they said we were welcome to make use of it over out weekend.

After a cozy night in the cabin we went out rock climbing late the next morning. We climbed in two different spots; one right on the lake and the other up in the woods where Michael lead his first climb ever! (he did great job by the way)
It was a beautiful day for climbing and it was neat to have good friends and a good challenge.




After we'd had our fill of climbing we went back to the cabin we we met up with our friend, Amy. It's her family that owns the cabin so she would be spending the rest of the weekend and part of the next week there. We were happy to have her company, and the speed boat she brought with her! That afternoon Amy, Ed, and Kirk took the boat out to do a bit of skiing. It was such a beautiful afternoon that Michael and I opted for the canoe that was sitting down at the dock. We paddled around for a while, soaking in the beauty of our surroundings. A bit later on we went out on the speed boat too. Michael was dubbed captain while the other three got pummeled doing some inner-tubing. Always a good time! That evening was filled with good food and games of Settlers of Catan.



After yet another rousing game of Settlers, we spent more time on the boat on Monday. We all got in as much water sporting as we desired and left that evening feeling sad that out time there was over. But who could have asked for a better weekend!