Well its been almost 5 months since my last entry. By far the longest absence of traveling I’ve had! I’m not proud of this either (shaking my head). As you can recall I came back from Israel a new woman. In that time I returned to work, hung out with friends and family and wrote more short stories. I essentially got back in my rhythm and was lulled back to the daily grind of work and general relationships. Hey it’s not like I work for National Geographic for a living, a girl’s gotta make some dough! But, dear readers, last and certainly not least I met a wonderful man named Anthony. He has changed my life in a way I could hardly describe. Well, we got engaged New Year’s eve and I havent looked back since! So you could say the last 5-6 months have turned my life upside down but in a crazily fantastic way. Sometimes you just have to take chances. Reasonable ones of course (barring bodily harm and gross errors of common sense). Readers you know I take risks so its only natural that I encourage the mantra, “nothing risked is nothing gained”. Enough philosophy for now. I preface all of this to segue into my most recent adventure: Whitewater rafting in the beautiful Pocono Mountains! Now you see why I had to set you all up. This activity is not for those who may be afraid of swimming, deepwater, possible raft capsizing or sharp pointy rocks. Check, check, check and check. So three brave lady friends and I took the challenge and rafted the Lehigh River it all its glory! On a scale of 1-5, 5 being the roughest and untamable, our river adventure registered a cool and even 3. It was rough but balanced periodically by calm waters here and there. Let me tell you we got tossed around enough to scare the living daylights out of us though! It was 12 miles of pure exhilaration! 6 hours of bone bending, stomach churning adrenaline! Most importantly it was FUN! We were later caught in a thunderstorm and as our raft quickly filled with rain water I have to admit the ladies and I started to panic, an emotion I got very acquainted with from the start of our journey. If the fear of broken femurs, paddle-to-head injuries or watching others get thrown about like rag dolls doesn’t do it for you then perhaps choppy waves of water moving towards you at 50 miles an hour will. Take your pick. I recommend it only for the adventurous type. The team work exercises are great as well. You learn to trust and have patience with yourself and others as well as sharing (not just your food). I have to say it was something I definitely want to do again and again! Visit: www.poconowhitewater.com for more details and pricing. Brian was our river guide and he was so patient and helpful! 🙂
May28
obsessedwiththewest 