Mavis was at the party? The greatest dog in Portland and you did not put up a picture of her, all decked up in a dog jacket??? (Grrrrr!!) Mavis has a big fan out here!

I'd been in New Zealand for about three months when I took off for a two week adventure in the North Island with my Kiwi buddy when she suggesed we try the 'sledging'. I thought, "What kind of crazy thing is this?"
"Oh, you know, you have this plastic thing and you float down the river. It's very relaxing."

So I agreed. When we arrived at the site and the guides were helping me pull on my gear, I got an inkling of what we were into when he asked, "Are you a tough girl?"
"Not really," I replied.
"Hmm. you're going to have a hard time then," he said.
The next three hours consisted of learning how to maneouver in class five rapids, on a 3 foot piece of plastic called a sledge, without getting killed. Sage advice from like the guides included such pearls of wisdom as "If you think you're going to run into a cliff face, just turn around and hit it with your feet. That way you won't get killed."
Oh. Ok. After several terrifying sets of rapids we came to the "Big Kahuna" - a 14 foot waterfall we were expected to dive over, with only a helmet and a piece of plastic to keep us alive. Our guide told us that we could opt out, if we wished. As he went around the group and each person said, "I'm in", I knew I couldn't back down. After all, my status as a 'tough girl' was at stake. So, there we went. My insane Kiwi friend was the first to dive in. You've got to kick hard and go over at just the right spot.
I heard a voice say, "Are you ready for this?" I stood on the edge of the rocks shaking and ready to vomit. I took a deep gulp of breath and dove in. The water was cold and the current was fast. I kicked as hard I could aiming for the 'sweet spot' I'd been told to hit. There it is - the edge of the waterfall. I tucked my head down and tightened my grip. I closed my eyes and prayed that I wouldn't get caught in the recirculating pool. With a rush I was under water. A sudden moment of panic. Then I'm up. I can see the blue sky. I've made it. My fellow sledgers are cheering at the eddy to the right. I swim over to them with the my crazy, idotic, 'I can't belive I'm still alive' grin. Holy shit. That was the coolest thing I've ever done.