We attempted to start Summer with a nice long canoe float down the swollen Chena River. Here was the planned route:
But as soon as we got into downtown Fairbanks, our friends hit an eddy line, Sam sprung out from the canoe, and they tipped over and dumped into the water. So, rather than continue the trip with them soaking wet and hypothermic, we called a cab for a ride to our shuttle car, which we'd left at the Pump House, and ended the day. Sam's parents were shocked to have dumped their canoe, which they'd had for years and used on miles of trips, for the first time in the relatively gentle Chena. I was shocked that they were shocked. I thought to myself, so that's what it's like to be coordinated. You are shocked when you do something clumsy, instead of accepting it as part of your daily life, as I do! Haha!
Here are the girls looking bored:
"Oh are you taking our photo? Okay, I'll pose and look cute."
3 comments:
That's too bad. Tuition waiver is supposed to be one of the benefits of being a Grad Student. God knows I've made good use of the university to take for-fun classes.
Kudos to your adviser for keeping you focused. Although too bad, as it's always the outlying classes that give you breadth of knowledge and allow you more flexibility in your career.
How scary for your friends in the canoe! So what happened to the boat - how did you get it home? Glad to hear that everyone was safe - I'm sure it was terribly cold water. Do you keep a drybag with a dry change of clothes just in case?
Oh, they were fine and the canoe was fine, and everything was in dry bags. And we all had our our neoprene and everything so they warmed up pretty quickly once they were out of the water. Most uncomfortable was watching them argue about whose fault it was, while the rest of us stood haplessly by and tried to deflect all blame to the dog!
But I'm pleased to report that after they were warm and dry and showered and fed, they were in much better spirits, and their wedding is still on for the Summer. Phew! :)
Oh, we had left a shuttle car in town for driving back to our put-in place, so a (dry) friend and I waited with the canoes while the shuttling all went back and forth. :)
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