So after I left Rhode Island, I was not too worried about my drive. It was gonna be along one, but I figured that arriving at 10:30pm was not gonna be too late. Little did I know that this drive was about 80% back country roads, it was pitch black, and it took FOREVER!!

So, have you ever watched one of those classic scenes in a scary movie where some unfortunate soul is driving down some back country road, no streetlights, curvy roads, no cars or people are to be seen for miles, and thought, wow, I would really like to experience that someday.

Exactly. Nobody ever thinks that, and for good reason. It is NOT fun!! I was driving on this "Route 201" for over 60 miles, and I only saw like 3 other cars in that time. Now I didnt fear for my life, but I will admit I turned on my interior light a few times just to make that ax murderer from those urban legends that hides out in your back seat wasnt there. (he wasnt). But I did fear hitting a moose. there were signs everywhere saying 'watch for moose!' (but no moose were killed due to my driving).

Now when I booked this white water trip, I did not bother to actually look at a map to see where in Maine this town of "The Forks" was, I just mapquested it and saw that it was a 6 hour drive. I dont know the landscape of Maine, how I was I to know that it would take so long to get there in the pitch dark?

When I finally found this place, I was so relieved to get there, but it being so late for those crazy locals in "The Forks," nobody was there to tell me where to go. The lady on the phone just said she would leave my key in my room. Okay, great. So I get there, where the heck is my room? All I see are tents and a bath house. So I find this random white board that says

"BRUBAKER - YOUR ROOM IS 2-6 IN DEAD RIVER LODGE. TO GET TO DRL, GO BACK UP CAMPGROUND, TURN LEFT DOWN DIRT ROAD, CROSS LITTLE BRIDGE, AND IT IS ON THE LEFT."

Right. So I do that once, and all I find is a sign that says Parking Lot for Dead River. Well, I figure maybe my lodge is through there, but all it is is woods. And I have no flashlight, and I definately didnt see a bridge. But I drive back up to the white board to read the note again because maybe after all my moose dodging and back road driving I had become delirious. No, it did say to cross a little bridge. So I drive back up, take a left down the road (which was not a dirt road by the way) and I still see no bridge. I am going crazy at this point and finally after one more time of checking this board, I drive up a different way through some different tents, only to meet a dead end. And to get some strange looks from the campers already settled in. Like, why is she driving down this dead end?!

So, finally I drive back down that non-dirt road and find a cabin. In the pitch black I could not see that it was clearly labeled "Dead River Lodge" (I found this to be quite an easy find in the daylight the next morning, and boy did I feel stupid that it took me so long to find) and this 'bridge' was not a real bridge but some pavement with a hole under it to allow a little creek to flow through. A creek that was not visible in the pitch black of the night.

So, back to the night that wouldnt end - I park my car and go into the lodge and see my room. I run back out to the car to grab my bags, because if that ax murderer didnt sneak into my car while I was driving, I was sure he would be there by now. It is all dark, no sounds of anybody nearby, and Im pretty sure I was the only one in that lodge, because I didnt see anybody else in there the next morning either.

I was perfectly safe this whole time. I come to find out that this lodge was right next to where all the rafts are prepared and only mere steps away from the registration office. But I didnt know that at 11:00pm at night.

I had planned to blog about this whole experience as soon as I got up to my room, but I opened up my lappy and fell asleep right away. Luckily I woke up on time to catch my river rafting trip.

Now onto the fun part!!

White Water Rafting is my new favorite thing. It was so much fun! And quite a workout. You can see from my videos what a challenge it was, and how high those rapids were. I befriended a couple from Connecticut - Doug and Becky who were in my same raft (picture provided of the wonderful couple) And I just had a blast. There were six people plus our river guide in our raft. (now in those videos other than the one with me riding on the front, I am in the middle on the left hand side of the raft - the side closest to the camera)

You know, people were so concerned about me doing this trip by myself, but I have made friends everywhere, and have just been having the time of my life. As soon as we were down the river (which took about two hours) I wanted to go back up and raft down it again. It was amazing. When those rapids hit you, it feels like you get punched in the face the water is so fierce. It sounds painful, but its just awesome.

The video that I have provided was made by the company. I got a dvd of the whole experience. There were 9 rafts altogether with the Magic Falls Company that went down the river, I just showed you my boat. I video taped it with my digital camera from my laptop which is why the quality isnt the best, but hopefully you can get a feel for what I did.

Was that a long enough blog for ya?