July River Trip

It was beautiful and we were right by the water.

So much has happened since our trip to the Guadalupe River on July 25th - 28th but I better just start there. We left the kids with my mom, Grammie, and headed out on Friday morning around 8:30 am. We drove girls one car and guys another car so we would still all like each other when we arrived. Ha! April, Cheyenne, and I rode in one vehicle and Dallas, Mike, and Ryan in another. We met three other couples there. We made good time on the trip down and stopped at a store for groceries when we exited I-35. We reached the Rio Raft Resort at around 1 pm and checked in. We had rented two cabins and an RV for everyone. Dallas and I stayed with Mikey and Stacey in a cabin until Sunday evening and we moved to the RV.

Our group arrived hours before everyone else and had plenty of time to get set up and relax while we waited. Once our other friends arrived we went down to the river side and "played" in the water. It was too late for a river float that day and the water was ridiculously cold!! We cooked fajitas on the grill for dinner and I think we were all in bed before 10:30. It was obvious that all of us had kids at home and needed a vacation!

Saturday morning we cooked a huge breakfast and prepared everything for the river float. We had to make sandwiches, pack coolers, and generally get ready. We headed out for a 4 hour float around 1 pm and we had a blast! It was almost exactly 4 hours when we floated back to our camp. There were so many people on the river this year which made it more fun. Out of 12 people in our group no one lost anything important and not one person got severely burned. April's feet were red but nothing a little aloe vera couldn't fix. We grilled burgers and brats for Saturday night and sorry to say it but I think we were all in bed by 11 again. Isn't that sad!
Sunday morning everyone was busy packing to leave. We had only rented the cabins for two nights and the RV we had for three nights. Since it was our anniversary we decided to stay an extra night by ourselves. We packed our stuff up and moved it to the RV while everyone else packed up the cars. By noon the camp ground was silent. It was almost scary the difference once all the people were gone. It was so peaceful but very weird for me. It took a conscious effort for me to sit and be still but once I did it was so nice. We sat outside under a shade tree while D played the guitar. We ate some lunch and decided to start getting ready for another float. By the time we were ready for our float there were a few people trickling in but for the most part it was still empty.

We decided to go on another 4 hour float by ourselves after all we weren't in a hurry. It was much more relaxing all around on this float. We didn't have to wait for an hour to get shuttled to the drop off or worry about waiting for everyone to get in the water and get ready to go. We simply jumped in a van, got out, put our tube in the water, and floated away. It was so calm. I really didn't know what to do with myself because it is extremely hard for me to relax but eventually I really got the hang of it. It was amazing the beautiful scenery around us that I had never noticed before. There were not quite as many people in the river on Sunday but I was surprised how many were there.

We had made it about 2/3 of the way back to our camp when we started loosing air in our tube. Oh crap! We got out and made our way to the side embankment and sat down. I didn't really know what we were going to do. I couldn't walk on the rocks very well and the tube wouldn't make it with anyone on it. The water was extremely cold and I was starting to panic. Of course Dallas just sat there devising a plan and eating a sandwich. We had rented a float for the cooler from Rio Rafts so we decided I would ride on that tube while the cooler balanced in the dead tube. Wait where would Dallas ride... well he didn't ride anywhere he pulled me and our stuff back to camp. He was truly my knight in shining swim shorts that day! It was so cold and I don't know if I would have made it back without him. We even managed to have a really good time in spite of the tube. We met some people and hung out with them the rest of the way back. Dallas was beat once we got back and fell asleep in the chair outside the RV. I decided to let him sleep for a while and then we would go get something to eat.

I woke him up in an hour or so after I had cleaned up and taken a shower. (Yes I moved him into the RV shortly after falling asleep. I didn't leave him sleeping outside!) We went down River Road and tried to find somewhere to eat in BFE. We went inside a little bar by the tube drop off spot but the kitchen was already closed and we didn't want to drink we wanted to eat. We decided to head back toward I-35 to find somewhere to eat. My half asleep husband was in charge of directions and we turned the opposite way of the highway and thank goodness! We happened across a hole in the wall Italian restaurant and it was amazing! After dinner we went back to the RV and were asleep not long after that.

Monday morning and it was time to go home. I had a wonderful time but we both missed our babies so much. I had done really well not thinking about the kids until Sunday evening. While D was sleeping I wondered around outside. The camper next to us had kids with them. Seeing all the little kids made me want to jump in the car right then and head home but I resisted. We packed up and headed out around 11. We stopped in Austin and ate a nice seafood lunch that made us extremely tired. We made it home around 3:30 pm and unpacked everything. We went to get the kids asap which ended up being around their normal pick up time of 5 pm. They were just as happy to see us and we were to see them. It was the longest I have ever been away from them and I was very proud of myself but damn I missed my babies! It was a wonderful trip but it was great to be home.