Paddle, Paddle, Paddle
Friday was the 4th of July and I did something many local Fort Fun people told me NOT to do….tube the Poudre river. The river has been extremely high this summer due to all the snow fall, and high water means bigger rapids and faster flowing water. Every year people die tubing the Poudre River. Yet Lance, myself, and several other friends decided to tube the river. It was a hot day and who would not want to lay on a tube, float down the river, and drink a cold beer? ME…after seeing how fast that water was moving. As we got out of our cars and saw the few other crazy people, they all had life jackets on! Did my crew have life jackets on? Nope. All my crew had was bags of beer (not me though, I had water, a candy bar, and a box of nerds). Many of my Texas friends have tubed the Guadalupe near Austin. That river is packed with people and flows turtle slow compared to the Poudre. Against my own free will, I jumped into the frigid cold water, hopped on my tube, tried to grab onto one of my friends tubes so I was not stranded off by myself for dear life, and practically flew down the river. At first I was freaked out and not having fun. This was no relaxing adventure for me….it was stressful and I was so tense from rafting with my damn arms to avoid rocks and rapids that I was all tensed up and could barely move my shoulders. But eventually, my screams turned into laughter and fun. One mistake the driver made, he parked the other car way too far down the river. Most people tube the river for roughly 2 hours-my crew, we tubed the river for a solid 5 hours! And scold me now friends, but I had not one lick of sunscreen on. You can imagine what my legs looked like and the spots around the top of my bikini. Certain areas (I won’t mention) are itchy and blistering. I’ve learned my lesson. But now my skin is tan and pretty…for the most part.
Following the tubing adventure (don’t think I’ll be doing that again for a while), Lance and I headed to a party where I only knew 2 people. But everyone turned out to be super fun and very nice. We ate sausage, burgers, 4th of July cupcakes, played beer pong (I don’t remember the last time I played this game-but I kicked ass), and rode bikes to watch the fire-works. Let me mention, beer-pong was girls vs guys and you can guarantee the girls won 9 out of 10 times! And the bet, the guys had to give us clean lap-dances…they sucked. All in all, a great 4th of July. 
Saturday Lance and I were so tired that all we really did was lounge around and spend money, well, I spent money. Seeing as I finally received my sign on bonus I decided to spend a little of it on something lavish for my new townhome. A BIG flat screen TV! I never spend money like this nor to I buy myself lavish things (other than 3 month backpacking trips)…so it was a major splurge. But after hearing Lance complain about my tiny 19 inch TV in my big family room for a week, I figured I would give in and buy one. And boy does it look nice, and BIG! And having Lance around was even better bc he was able to set it all up for me, mount my tiny tv on my bedroom wall, hang my new flowers on my patio, hang my pictures on the wall etc. etc. Having a man around the house was nice as he was able to complete all of these manly chores. But believe me, I could still do without a man in the house for a few years longer. Oh, and Lance bought me a few house warming gifts…a grille AND a plunger!
Sunday I forced Lance and myself to hike Gray Rock, even with the weather looking crummy. Obviously, hiking high in the mountains in crummy weather can be a dangerous thing. We did get rained on slightly but as we made it to the summit, the sun came out. Fortunately for us, no thunderstorms a-top of Gray Rock. I forewarned Lance that the hike would not be easy for him, I was right. He struggled and struggled and would always stop to take photos, only I knew he was stopping to take breaks bc he was so out of shape, I mean breath. One man on the trail even asked Lance if he was puffing, and then proceeded to ask him if he was going to be able to make it to the top. Well folks, after hiking up 2500 feet and doing a little rock climbing, Lance and myself made it to the top of the mountain. We had a fabulous view. We sat and enjoyed our picnic; salami sandwiches, carrots, pretzels, apples, energy bars, and a Tupperware full of cake I had made a few nights before. Of course I never forget the mustard on the top of a mountain. Makes the sandwich taste so much better.
Now Lance is gone, and it is quiet in the house, and I have to do chores for myself again…like take out the trash (my least favorite chore). Having Lance here was a ton of fun and I can’t wait for his next visit.
