Okay, I had to change the names to protect the innocent.

Here is an email I sent to Mr. Troutbend last Friday:

Friday Night


Dear Honey,

I would say I wish you were here, but I don't really. We had a nice
time rafting, except of course Alphonse acted like a total horse's ass,
including keeping 30 strangers waiting until we could locate him (hiding
out in the shade across the parking lot) for the safety talk. And no fun
on the 1 1/2 hour car trip (one way) car trip, either.

Those of us who rode in the car with him refused to ride in the same
raft with him because we were just so irritated, even though there was
pressure on me to go get in his raft so Lafayette and his partner Sweetness could be in the same raft. Too bad. The two strongest paddlers are supposed to go in the front of the raft, but he claimed he was an expert rafter so they put him in front, not a good decision. At one point he actually fell out, the only one of us who did, and the only one of the 30 or so rafts we could see at the same time. What a fool.


So we got back about 6 pm, time for supper, but I took a shower first
because I smelled like a sour dishcloth from the wet suit. I wore the
whole outfit and stayed relatively dry. Our group didn't have to pay
$10 extra for the full gear because Slacker's fiance talked them into
getting it for free because we were a large group. We had booties, wet
suits, splash jackets that are like a wind breaker, life vests, and
plastic helmets. With my sunglasses on, I looked like the Unabomber. It
was a hot day, and most people opted not to wear their splash jackets,
but I had read that a person should dress as if they are going to fall
in, so I didn't care, and I got splashed a lot, and it was actually
pleasant. And I didn't end up totally soaked to the skin like everyone
else. I was also wearing a tee shirt and capri pants under my wet suit
plus my swimming suit. I certainly wasn't going to get cold. The ride
back to the starting spot was about an hour, and I peeled of the rafting
gear for that, so still had my tee shirt and pants on. I was just fine.
Other people just wore that soggy wet suit all the way back.



We got splashed plenty, maybe about like the raft rides at the
amusement parks, or a little less. There was nothing scary, except a
couple spots where we got jerked around a little bit. I don't think our
guide was very good, and other rafts would pile on top of us in the
tight spots, sometimes causing strains and scrapes on the rocks. I don't
know if that was her fault, or our fault, or their fault.

There was definitely a lot of paddling for all of us, but I don't feel
like my muscles are screaming, just a little tired. We'll see how we
feel tomorrow.


The supper tonight was horrible. The El Colorado Lodge advertises that
they are set up for family reunions, and they show a nice banquet room
with at least 7 nice white tables and seating for about 45 people. The
reality was one skinny folding table with plastic top and a wooden home-style dining table, with maybe 12 chairs, not nearly enough for our group.

The rest of the 'hall' was
taken up by three scroungy-looking double beds crammed together to
accommodate sleepers, lots of them. So some people were sitting on these
beds for chairs, and there weren't enough chairs for everyone to sit, so
people had to eat in shifts. They had two trash bags, and those soon
filled up, and then they just left the trash where it was.

hose of us who wanted to clean up wandered around with trash in
our hands looking for somewhere to put it down. I just hate that sort
of poor planning. I thought I had stuck some black trash bags in the car
just when I was getting ready to leave, but I couldn't find them in the
dark. I must have set them down somewhere and forgotten them. It was
just nasty and squalid, and I hated it, couldn't get out of there soon
enough. I blame Janet and her family for accepting this kind of
conditions, just shrugging it off and figuring everyone will overlook
the inconvenience and trashy aspects.

And I don't know how I am going to face going back there tomorrow night
for authentic Mexican food from Laredo, Texas. They still have three of
my checked tablecloths, and I'm not leaving without them, but if I can
figure out a way to snatch them away, I might come home early. I asked
Lulu (who was in charge of reserving that venue if there are going to
be enough chairs tomorrow night, and she claimed she hadn't realized
there weren't enough. I pointed out that several people had to give up
their chairs to us late-comers and stand around or sit on the floor.

Then, they had a big debate about what they are going to do tomorrow-
they were all shocked to discover how expensive everything is - $40 a
car to drive up Pike's Peak with 5 people, and then $8 for each
additional adult and $5 for each child. I don't know what they finally
decided, because they looked at everything - cog railway, etc. and it
all costs a lot more than anyone seems to want to spend. Of course Alphonse was Mr. Know-it-All about everything, but full of impractical ideas that nobody wanted to do. I told them I would do something on my own, which means knitting here by myself, most likely.

=====