My brother John called me one day while we were sitting in our
36 ft 5th wheel RV in Florida, making plans for the up-coming summer.
We try to plan on visiting with our families for about 30 days in Maine
before moving on each year to see more of this great country of ours.
John wanted to know if we would be interested in getting a
family group together and go White Water Rafting on the
Penobscot River. Our whole family was born in Bucksport,
Maine, which is on the banks of the Penobscot River, just before
it empties into Penobscot Bay, so I have always thought of the
Penobscot as a big, deep, wide and slow moving body of water
that rises and falls with the tides. Having White Water Rafting
100 miles or better upstream had never crossed my mind.
After we talked it over, we told John that we would like to give it
a try. A family group sounded like a lot of fun. In the end, John
had a group of 14 family members ready and anxious to go White
Water Rafting .Tracy was the only one in the group that had ever
been White Water Rafting before, so we were looking forward to
our new adventure. John collected our share of the expenses and
made all of the necessary arrangements , including an overnight
stay at a hotel when we arrived, way up there in the woods.
(Woods in Maine-you don't say ? ).
We left our site at Deer Creek RV Resort in Florida on schedule
and worked our way up through the States,visiting here and there.
When we found anything that was of interest to us,we stopped and
and stayed awhile to enjoy whatever it was that caught our interest.
Slow and easy was our lifestyle.
Will Roger's Statue in Oolagar,Ok. (Birth Place of Will Rogers).
We didn't hurry. It took six weeks for us to get to L.L.Bean,
in Freeport, Maine where bought some "water shoes" and a few
other items in preparation for our rafting trip.
Eventually we arrived at "Shady Oaks" campground in Orland,
Maine, where we always spend at least a month each year,while
enjoying the Maine Coastal area as well as visiting family and
friends.
We touched base with John to let him know where we were.
On departure, day all 14 of us headed out and sort of caravaned
to Millinocket and to the Hotel where we had reservations.
We got settled in and organized. then all 14 of us went out
for dinner. The waitresses did a good job serving the meals and
handling all the seperate meal tickets. The 14 of us had a great
time sharing stories and getting caught up to date with each other.
and asked us if we were related. That got a good laugh from everyone.
The next day was the big day for the Rafting trip. We were bused up to the
launching area where we were processed and issued our equipment.We had
our picture taken with us in full gear. Then it was off to the river for our
adventure.
What a thrill it was going down the White Water Rapids with large boulders
every where.The thoughts of the raft overturning with me underneath kept going
through my mind. I remember thinking...if I ever survive this trip, I'll never do it
again..I promise! And so far I have kept that promise!(But I am glad that I went.).
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