A Wondrous Journey (Ch. 6) - An Unforgettable River Adventure

 "The best gift you could have gotten her was a lifetime of adventures." ~ Lewis Carroll

Here's a recent bit of "relationship wisdom" that I've seen floating around the Internet recent (usually delivered by an attractive, laughing younger couple pointing at each other): "A successful marriage is made up of two kinds of people: One person who is boring. And one person who is crazy." It always makes me chuckle to see who is pointing at whom. 

Take a guess at who is which in our relationship. I'll give you a clue...

Mr. Boring and Mrs. Crazy - Carmel CA 2017

There is no question that Deborah is the more daring, more adventurous soul between the two of us. Though I've traveled a little more than she has, she is the one who has always been more excited to take us off to do something with a little risk in it - just a wee bit of "danger". And to be honest, that's probably what attracted this shy guy to her! 

There was an epic adventure that we went on early in our relationship that I will never forget. Looking back, I'm sure I would've never done this by myself, but now am so glad that I did. And an added bonus was that we learned things about ourselves (individually and as a couple) that have been priceless, and the adventure we shared in is part of our love history as a couple. It brought us closer together.

Rafting the Rogue River - July 11 2005

The scenic Rogue River and Hellgate Bridge

It was our 1st summer together and Deborah decided that we should take a July afternoon and go white-water rafting down the scenic Rogue River. This beautiful stretch of water is right in our backyard so to speak - just 10 minutes away from home. She had gone rafting a few times in her previous marriage, but I had never done anything like this in my life. But I was "brave" (more likely very naive), and because I was in love I was willing to do anything the woman of my dreams wanted to do. So off we went for a nice afternoon float. Uh. Yeah.

We decided to do the float from Hog Creek to Galice: described as "...an excellent novice run...and ultra pleasant". As we rode in the shuttle van to our drop-off point, both Deborah and I sat silently: Me, just bouncing along with the ride; she (I later learned) a bit nervous.  The shaggy-haired teen driving gave us the only rafting instruction/advice that he deemed necessary. He simply said: "Just remember. If you fall in, "Noses and toes up!". Swell. We reached Hog Creek. And took the obligatory selfie.

Deborah at Hog Creek - Still smiling

We lowered the two person kayak gently into the river. Gingerly boarded it - life-jackets snugly fastened. The guide let go of the kayak - and we suddenly shot down the river like we were on a wild mare loosed from the rodeo chute! Bucking and bouncing off waves while the two of us - Deborah in front, me in the back - scrambled to figure out which end of our oars were the "working" ends!

Hog Creek ramp - Don't let the looks fool you!

The next 3 miles down river through Hellgate Canyon can be summed up in the following exchanges between the two of us (each of which occurred more than once!):

Deborah:    "Oh my God, Jonathan! We're headed right for the big rock!"

Me:            "Relax, Sweetie. It's all ok." BUMP!! (backwards)

Deborah:     "Go STRAIGHT, Jonathan! Everytime I let you paddle, we go backwards!"

Me:            "Relax, Sweetie. I know what I'm..." WHACK!! SPLASH!"

Me:            "Wow! Wasn't that exciting!"

Deborah:    "YOU'RE NOT EVEN WET!" Paddle splash!!

Me:            Now wet

The climax of this part of the "float" - as we pinballed from one riffle to another down the Rogue - somehow avoiding being flipped into the blue water - was the following exchange: One that taught me a valuable lesson (one I've never forgotten) about what NOT to say to a woman at anytime. Ever. 

Typical view as we bounced along

Deborah:    "Jonathan. You need to paddle straight and harder!"

Me:            "We'd be FINE, if you'd just stop flailing around."

A moment of silence now for that infinitely stupid thing to say. I'm sure you're wincing as you read it. I am. I was younger, and much dumber in the ways of relationships back then. 

Deborah:    "Flailing? Flailing?. All right then."

And promptly crossed her arms, took her oars out of the water and left me to "manly-muscle" the two person kayak around the river on my own until I apologized most sincerely. 

The last couple of miles were a little calmer (both in the boat and on the river!). We glided past the Morrison River Lodge, and then pulled out at the Galice Resort. We were grateful to have made it without a single splash into the river (we credit that to Deborah's great sense of balance - and luck!). And, as you can see, we still had smiles for each other. 

End of the Hog Creek-Galice adventure. Still smiling!

Not exactly an ace rafter - but happy to make it!

"In life it's not where you go, it's who you travel with." ~ Charles Schultz

There is no question that two people can learn a lot about each other when they travel together or go out "adventuring" as we did on this summer day 17 years ago. 

You learn about the importance of patience - and forgiveness. You learn about how each person reacts to stress or unexpected twists and turns. You learn about perseverance and inner strength. You learn about trust. And most importantly, you learn about the limitations you're willing to step through - all in the name of love. 

I'm grateful for all the adventures we've shared since that July afternoon on the Rogue River. I'm sure I'll write about many more of them in future entries. Each of them as helped the two of us weave a quilt of love together that has grown bigger and tighter as time has passed. 

Still kinda crazy about each other

"Here's to all the places we went, and here's to all the places we'll go. And here's to me, whispering again and again and again. I love you." ~ John Green

Amen to that. I may be the boring one still. But I know one person I'm crazy about. Always will be.