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We were so sad to
wake up on Saturday knowing it was our last day in Sunriver. Because our long
morning bike ride along the river on Friday was so enjoyable we decided to
start our final day the same way. I could do that everyday and I don’t think I
would grow tired of it.
Time for a little water break and snack
Even after four days we still had to consult a trail map periodically to
make sure we were heading the right way.
On more than one occasion we ended up biking on one of the main roads –
a major Sunriver no-no.
Obeying the rule to dismount bikes while riding through the tunnels
It was already
lunchtime by the time we made it back to the house. Justin had prepared a pasta
salad earlier that morning (while I slept in... thanks Justin). Katie went down
for a nap while we prepared to go rafting/tubing down the river that afternoon.
We borrowed a large raft and oars from our friends and I purchased a few tubes
at Costco, complete with water guns. When the raft was safely secured to the roof
of our van, and we had everything loaded up and ready, we woke up Katie and set
off for the river. As we were driving to the area we would put into the river
we heard thunder in the distance and we saw a few raindrops, but since rain wasn’t
in the forecast we didn’t think too much of it. Justin dropped me and the kids
(and all the raft, tubes, etc...) off at the riverbank while he drove the van
several miles down the road to the marina where we planned to get out of the
river (he had a bike in the van so he could ride back to us). It took him
nearly a half hour to make his way back to us. While we waited it continued to
sprinkle, but I remained faithful that the sun would find its way through the
dark clouds soon.
We were so
excited when he finally arrived and we could get out on the river.
We couldn't have
been on the river more than 20 minutes before it really started to rain. We're
talking downpour. Picture if you will two young girls sitting in tubes bungeed
behind a small raft. Their rear ends sitting in ice cold river water and rain plummeting
them. Then imagine me, Jason, and Katie curled up at one end of the raft under
the only towel we brought. Then Justin trying his best to row us to the end of
a 2+ hour float trip as quickly as possible. We were on the river over an hour
and a half. Only during the last 20 minutes did we see any sun. Would you
believe this will be one of my favorite memories of the trip? It was miserable,
really, really miserable.
This
is Carly before the rain
This is Carly after the rain finally let up
(my phone was safely triple
baggied the rest of the time)
Our tireless oarsman and the blue skies ahead
Around every bend
we thought we’d finally arrived at the end, the marina had to be around the
next bend, right? The girls were freezing cold, you could see every little hair
on their bodies sticking straight up, but we were able to find a bit of humor
in it as well. Carly mentioned that next time we go rafting we need to bring an
umbrella. We were all so uncomfortable but everyone kept their cool, it was
shocking really.
The last 20
minutes were enough for us to see how amazingly beautiful and relaxing it could
have been had we had better weather. It wasn’t long enough for us to thaw out
though so we loaded everything into (and on top of) the van quickly and headed
to the waterpark to enjoy what was left of the afternoon. We ate a late dinner
at a Mexican restaurant in the village that night, our only meal out.
Sunday it was
time to load up and head home. None of us were ready to leave yet, but we know
we will be back. Without a doubt this was one of our favorite vacations. Each
experience was centered around being with our little family. Not sure we’ve
ever had a vacation where we haven’t either been visiting extended family or
had family with us. There's no one
else I would have wanted to share that time with.
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