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Post by bazookagoof on Aug 2, 2021 1:36:50 GMT
Happy August, everyone!  (August, already? Seems like this year just started a month ago or two...) I'm filled with a bit of dread this week- this Saturday I'm supposed to go on a short whitewater rafting trip on an artificial waterway in Indiana. It's a Class Two, so it's okay for amateurs. I'm not even an amateur, though! My daughter is taking two friends and the drive is about two hours. I need to get my parents to stop by and give the guys their snacks while I'm gone. I also hope my body can stand the strain; paddling constantly doesn't sound pleasant. (The length of time to do the trip is only about 5 minutes, but we have all-day passes and I can't skip any trips because there needs to be an adult in the raft for kids under 16.) |
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Post by Bean on Aug 2, 2021 9:40:26 GMT
Oh that sounds fun (although I fully appreciate the reasons for your reluctance too!) and I bet the workouts you do every day at work will have given you the muscles to see you through! Have you got a GoPro (or similar) to wear on your helmet? I feel like I don't want to miss out on this one!
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Post by 3piggles on Aug 2, 2021 14:41:54 GMT
I totally understand your concern, and hope you can manage, and have a good time. I did a Class 4 rapid with some friends, back in my 20s. That's expert level, and we were anything but experts I think we managed as well as we did, because we didn't know we were in way over our heads, so we just did what we needed to do. It was actually fun Switch off rowing sides, to give each arm/shoulder a break. About the only advice I can give, considering you're going to be with teenagers, who can probably row circles around all the adults Enjoy |
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Post by bazookagoof on Aug 3, 2021 0:13:12 GMT
Not only do I have a GoPro, I bought a waterproof case for it, so there's going to be some hopefully exciting action! My wife will be on the sidelines with my regular camera, although I don't have terribly high hopes for whatever she shoots- she's untalented as a cinematographer. Somehow she manages to defeat the autofocus every time, or shoots the exact wrong angle, or way too far for the shot to have any value.
I remember on our Indiana trip I was helping my daughter scale over a rock pile, and I wanted a shot of us doing it. I asked my wife to get the shot, and emphasized that our feet must be in the shot so people can see what we're climbing over...
...when I looked at the footage, it was just an extreme closeup of our shoes clomping up the rocks with no context to it at all. I discarded it in disappointment.
She's better than my mother, though. I have several horror stories of handing my camera to my mom to capture a moment, only later to find that she'd managed to shut the camera off and didn't notice. Alternately, she'd take a picture of something but crop out the surroundings, so I'd end up with a closeup of myself with no background to reveal where I was or who I was with.
We may be leaving one of my daughter's friends behind, as she isn't vaccinated. I had to lay down the law and explain that we have a 2 hour car ride and we can't social distance with people who haven't gotten the jab inside a moving vehicle. I said if everyone's cool with wearing masks inside the car, she can go, but my daughter decided to cut one of them loose.
Sad, but that's the way it has to be for now.
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Post by Bean on Aug 3, 2021 6:53:20 GMT
It's a shame, but we all have to stick to what we're comfortable in this pandemic. It's interesting your daughter chose ditching her over you all wearing masks! Have you got someone else to step in to make up the numbers or are you going to have a wonky raft?!
Your mum's photographic efforts made me chuckle (and your wife's picture of your shoes!), but I'm sorry you missed out on some good shots or footage of the places you've been because of it.
Hope your wife surprises you (if she's not needed on the raft!), but that's excellent news about the GoPro!
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Post by 3piggles on Aug 3, 2021 20:51:58 GMT
Lol, I had to laugh through your descriptions of photography problems with relatives I guess you needed to explain the shoe-in-relation-to-the-rest-of-the-picture aspect, lol Sorry you didn't get those shots, though. I wouldn't let her come, either. Masks are to protect others from us, not us from others, so just having her with you, taking off her mask to eat/drink/etc., is a really big risk. Can't stress it enough, but there's really no sane reason not to be vaccinated, and this is the price for it  |
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Post by bazookagoof on Aug 4, 2021 0:27:36 GMT
I believe there are various rafts that can accommodate anywhere from one to six people, so we should be okay. I do wish Vicki's friend could accompany us, but we have to make careful decisions here. I understand that her friend does want to be vaccinated, but her mom is an anti-vaxxer nutcase.
I recall a Christmas in 1995 when my brother and I bought my dad new stereo speakers- my brother would unfortunately be in England when Christmas rolled around, so I said I would videotape my dad's reaction. Regretfully, one that day as I started to record the event for my brother, my dad encountered some difficulty in opening the package, so my mom insisted I help him. Foolishly, I handed her the camera and helped my dad.
Only after the moment had passed, my mom piped up and asked, "It says pause- should it be doing that?"
Sigh... another precious moment totally lost.
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Post by Bean on Aug 4, 2021 7:02:08 GMT
Oh no! I bet every time part of you thinks 'What could possibly go wrong here? It's simple, have faith!' but then quickly find out...
There's talk over here of us starting to vaccinate 16 and 17 year olds soon - at the moment it's only 18+.
Is your wife not tempted to have a go at the rafting? Or do you require her expert filming skills on the side?!
Have fun Baz, I'm looking forward to hearing how it went!
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Post by 3piggles on Aug 4, 2021 19:54:41 GMT
We're vaccinating 12 year olds, so of course, Peanut is 11. Sigh! There's also talk of boosters needed, as the pandemic drags on, and the poor vaccines we already got are tested way beyond what they were supposed to do. Nothing definite, yet, and no government funding ready, etc. We'll have to wait and see what happens. I still have to get my shingles and pneumonia shots. I just have to go to the store to get them, but keep forgetting. We stopped going to that supermarket, where I really like the pharmacist, so we'll have to go back there, so I remember to get the shots. Our news always has a COVID-19 segment, and always shows endless pictures of people getting a needle stuck in their arm. I wonder if people who are afraid of needles, are put off by all the pictures of people getting jabbed? Perhaps it's time to start a different visual approach to getting out the information. I'm just plain tired of seeing it, especially since it's not getting people vaccinated. NH is over 70% vaccinated, so we're one of the states that hasn't seen the variants. Still, I'd like to see the whole country 70% vaccinated. Hehehe, you're mom is consistent, if nothing else, Baz You should have had him put it all back in the box, and go through the motions again, so you could film it. I've seen those rafts, and I think there's a minimum and maximum number of people. Do you get your own raft, or do you have a guide take you and a bunch of other people through the rapids? That wouldn't be good, since you won't know if everyone else is vaccinated. I hope it's just your party in one raft :)I also hope you have a fabulous time |
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Post by bazookagoof on Aug 5, 2021 0:21:02 GMT
Is your wife not tempted to have a go at the rafting? Or do you require her expert filming skills on the side?! She informed me that she's actually interested in trying, so the extra all-day pass won't get wasted. This is good for me; I don't want to burn myself out paddling all day with work-sore arms on a Saturday. |
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Post by bazookagoof on Aug 5, 2021 0:24:49 GMT
Hehehe, you're mom is consistent, if nothing else, Baz You should have had him put it all back in the box, and go through the motions again, so you could film it. I've seen those rafts, and I think there's a minimum and maximum number of people. Do you get your own raft, or do you have a guide take you and a bunch of other people through the rapids? That wouldn't be good, since you won't know if everyone else is vaccinated. I hope it's just your party in one raft :)I also hope you have a fabulous time My dad would never have the patience for that, LOL! From what I can tell, each group gets their own raft, depending on the number of people going. There should be lifeguards at regular intervals or at least at the slightly dangerous points, so we should be safe. Here's a drone flyover of the area! |
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Post by Bean on Aug 5, 2021 7:13:25 GMT
It looks fun - can I come or will that throw the numbers off now you're wife's interested in having a go?! Have a great trip!
3piggles, the same happens here with the needles on tv and I've heard quite a few people say they're sick of seeing close ups of the injections going in and why do we need to keep seeing it on the news every day? Maybe they think it'll just make it normal?
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Post by 3piggles on Aug 5, 2021 17:03:02 GMT
I think it totally turns off anyone with a fear or even just a dislike of needles. I also think they could push the idea of getting vaccinated in many other ways, and just don't bother That's a great course, Baz. Should take too much out of you. The actual river would be a different story, but the canal course looks like a lot of fun. If I thought I could get in and out of the raft, I'd love to try it. Did it in a canoe, last time, and I like the idea of a raft better Enjoy |
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Post by bazookagoof on Aug 6, 2021 0:33:26 GMT
It looks fun - can I come or will that throw the numbers off now you're wife's interested in having a go?! Have a great trip! 3piggles, the same happens here with the needles on tv and I've heard quite a few people say they're sick of seeing close ups of the injections going in and why do we need to keep seeing it on the news every day? Maybe they think it'll just make it normal? Bean, we'd love to have you along! I would only say that if you were coming in America, there would be far more interesting places to visit than some old canal in the state of Indiana, though.  |
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Post by bazookagoof on Aug 6, 2021 0:37:09 GMT
That's a great course, Baz. Should take too much out of you. The actual river would be a different story, but the canal course looks like a lot of fun. If I thought I could get in and out of the raft, I'd love to try it. Did it in a canoe, last time, and I like the idea of a raft better Enjoy I remembered to charge up my camera batteries tonight and get my gear ready. I'm a little nervous, but not overly so. I just hope everything turns out okay. I'm also a tad jumpy about traveling since the pandemic is surging up again. The vaccinations are great protection, but not 100% effective. I always worry about that small chance... ...another board I visit infrequently had a story about a guy and his wife who vacationed down south- although they both were vaccinated, they both caught the trumpvirus! Neither needed hospitalization, but they both felt miserable, like it was the worst cold/flu they've ever felt for about a week or so. |
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Post by 3piggles on Aug 6, 2021 21:24:32 GMT
That's why we never stopped wearing masks. Interesting how many comments I get about my mask being a great mask. No comments about being overly skittish, or anything like that. Mostly just, "I love your mask." I really think a lot more effort should be put into fashion masks, made to be a staple of everyone's wardrobe. Make it the norm, not the exception. I remember Disney announcing they wouldn't have a mask mandate, as they couldn't expect their customers to wear hot masks in Florida, in the summer. Now they've instituted a mask mandate. It's still in Florida in the summer. Hmmm? A friend at the Y has family in Texas and Florida, plus other places. Last year, they were all going to get together at the Florida relatives. They had to cancel. They were going to try it again, but with the COVID spikes in Florida, and the Don't Fauci My State slogans on everything, they're canceling, again. Even the Texas branch of the family doesn't think it's safe to go to Florida. That's sad, in a very pathetic way, that Florida has set itself up as the dregs of places to go if you don't want the Trumpvirus. Any place in the deep south is really bad. It should be avoided at all cost, and that's also really sad The couple on the other forum were lucky. If they had any underlying condition, the virus could have killed them I'm glad it didn't! Glad you have everything charged and ready to go. Relax, enjoy. I really hope wearing masks will be enough to protect all of you from getting the virus. We're having a small spike, too. Not sure if it's going to continue, or if this is a one of. Enjoy |
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Post by bazookagoof on Aug 8, 2021 3:00:51 GMT
Made it back alive! It was exhilarating, although there were a few complaints (only from me):
- I had forgotten to take the time zone change into account, so we lost an hour of time. We thought we were getting there at 12 when they opened, and they had been open for an hour.
- My GoPro got fairly lousy shots; my first attempt had the camera falling down constantly so I really didn't get exciting footage. The second & third attempts were somewhat better, but overall nothing that blew me away. (On subsequent trips, I attached the GoPro to the life jacket straps instead.)
- My wife also managed to make about 75% of whatever she shot totally useless, but that was expected.
Still, it was a lot of fun and surprisingly, my arms didn't hurt at all. My legs ached slightly, but as the day went on I was fine. We will see how sore I am tomorrow, though! I did get some great shots of Vicki and her friend when my wife accompanied them once. I want to post an animated GIF, but Imgur (the site I use for posting GIFs) is acting up tonight so I'll try tomorrow.
Although it was the policy that no one under 16 go rafting without an adult, my daughter and her friend went (with my blessing) on their own and did just fine. I believe the staff figured that if they weren't capable of handling it, they would have stepped in. (They were both 15, but close enough.)
Also, Vicki and her friend handled things quite well! Given how fast you have to react for some of the obstacles, I felt I had little to worry about with them steering. My only worry at this point is hoping none of us caught the virus. We were out in the open the entire time, apart from a rest stop when the girls wore masks to use the washroom, just in case. There were some crowds at one point, but nothing like anyone huddling together, other than the families who stayed in their groups.
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Post by 3piggles on Aug 8, 2021 19:19:59 GMT
Too bad about the pictures, and the time zone issue, but otherwise it sounds as if you all had a great time I'm glad the route was fun, and kept you all busy. Probably good to have the girls steer, as they have really fast reaction time Glad you had a good time, and I'll watch for the gif Also glad you didn't come back all achy |
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Post by bazookagoof on Aug 9, 2021 1:22:44 GMT
Still no luck with Imgur. I swear, that website is so problematic- it's the only site I have any issues with; it acts like it's on dial-up, it's so slow. Maybe tomorrow. I don't want to hype up the pictures too much, so expect no masterpieces. |
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Post by Bean on Aug 9, 2021 6:34:55 GMT
Glad you had such a fun day! It sounds like the right level of challenging for you to be able to have a good time (and also not pay for it afterwards!). Looking forward to seeing some pictures/ footage!
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