Whitewater

I have finally found a few minutes to sit down and share pictures from my vacation to western Massachusetts the end of July. I had a great time. I went on my third cancer survivors retreat - this one was with First Descent in Denver; we met in Albany, NY at the airport and commuted to Plainfield, MA about 1.5 hour away. During the week, we learned to whitewater kayak and we also went whitewater rafting. We went down the Deerfield river in Charlemont, MA with Zoar Outdoor as our kayak instructors. We visited a little town called Shelburne Falls, Ma; it was a neat historic little artsy town. It is nice to meet new people and make new friends with those who have faced cancer too.

 flying to Detroit from Greenville-Spartanburg

 getting ready to land in Detroit

 one of the great lakes

landing in Albany

 river bound

 inside "campfire" on Monday night due to rain

 monday night winners L to R:
Pipes-sunshine award, Tilley-helpers award, and Jewels (me)-most improved award

 chefs and house moms

 sushi - tuna and vegetable! it was good!! my first time
having sushi and I like it!

 tuesday night campfire

 L to R: Sparkles, Jewels (me), Mufasa, T-Rex, Pipes, Bam-Bam, Tilley, Blue, and Mrs. Robinson
Back: Hon and Cherry Garcia

 flower bridge in Shelburne Falls

 Shelburne Falls, MA

 Fudge & Ice Cream Shop

 getting ready to hop in at the reservoir

 CHEESE!

 hammers and barefeet - not a smart!
did I catch the hammer? yes! on the rubber handle? most of the time

 went for a swim! Mrs. Robinson giving me a ride to shore.

 heading down to go through class III rapid

 WOO HOO!! super soaker class III rapid

 FD family with Zoar

 peeling out of an eddie

 happy faces after a week of play in the river with awesome instructors

 break on the river

 swimming "floating" through class II rapid for graduation!
I thought it'd be more fun out of the boat, ha!

 stuck on a rock! graduation friday

 Mrs. Robinson and I - team awesome!
This woman is incredible! We were PIC the entire week along with Pine Cone (Zoar instructor)
I couldn't have done it without the encouragement and push from them every morning!
can't swim? no problem, PFD - personal flotation device is your best friend!

 uh oh! caught making a splash! I got flipped.
Julie - 0   River - 1

 class II rapid swim - graduation ceremony!

 Team Awesome!

 Charlie's Angels! haha

 caught in action!

catching the eddie!