After the Vedder River Ride ...

And ... while our gals were enjoying an hour or so more on the river, the old boy, Sharon and I were just so darn grateful to be on firm ground. We hopped in the car and headed to town to replace some of the items we lost in the river (including our footwear). We also opted to pick up some antiseptic ointment and Band-Aids and a tensor bandage for Sharon's knee. Sharon then dropped us both off so she had enough room in the vehicle to pick up our other floaters at the meeting points.

The old boy and I enjoyed a little wine and snarfed down some crab cakes while we waited to be reunited with our peeps. As we were sitting there, though, it really started to hit us how lucky we had been that no one was fatally injured. Sheesh. It would not have taken much to get a knock on the head that caused significant injury. I felt especially bad for Sharon because she was sailing through that rough water without a life jacket even. Arghhhhh.
Gratitude started to eclipse our felt sense of vulnerability. It was interesting to me to hear the old boy say that this experience was the "most powerless" he had ever felt in his life. Yes. It was definitely an event that will not be easily forgotten in body, mind or spirit.

Update: it turns out that Sharon ended up being nauseated for many, many days after our incident. They believe she has torn an MCL or ACL in her knee. She was on crutches for a long time before she could even put weight on her knee. Her toes turned black more than blue but were not actually broken.

John's finger was not broken either … but even as of this update (a full three 3 weeks later), the swelling has finally gone down so that he can get his wedding ring on, but it still hurts if he bumps it. Fortunately, his toes were not broken either ... even though they felt like it.

Once we all got back together, it was gratifying to hear all the wonderful stories the rest of our tubers had to tell! I've added a few more pics and videos to give you a sense of all the fun that John, Sharon and I missed out on. It sure does my heart good to see that the rest of our gang really enjoyed their time on the water that day!!!

We arrived home later than we had intended ... but only because we got off to a late start. The drive home was great as the traffic cleared and we thoroughly enjoyed serving up the rest of our pot luck dinner items. Sharon had invited some friends and neighbors and even had arranged for a DJ to come and play the tunes for our last night together.

The food was, once again, phenomenal!! Thank you Granville Island for the delectable morsels that benefitted our bodies while we nourished our souls with the conversation and companionship around the fire pit over the evening.

I think I was the first to bed again …. but … I do believe it was a respectable midnight-ish before I tucked myself in after that exciting day! I think the rest of the partiers did it up right again though … enjoying themselves into the wee hours of the morning.Read more