Rafting the Kings River

Last weekend I had the pleasure of doing some white water rafting. This is actually my second year doing this. I should have written about this last year when I went. But, I never actually got around to finishing the entry until it was so long after it would have been a bit embarassing to post it.

The price of admission is about the cheapest you can find; damned near free. You have to supply your own camping gear, one meal provided and cooked by you (your "group" actually) for about 20 people and extra beer to share. In return, the raft, life jacket, oar and professional-quality guiding are provided. Seems like a deal to me. It's all due to the fact that the owner of the rafting gear, Colin, loves the activity. He owns the stuff, he just needs bodies to fill the boat. So, he invites friends (and friends of friends) to come up on one of the four or five trips he does a year. Last year Trent and I were fortunate enough to get included on the invite.

This year Trent, Barbara and I were going to be making the trip up to King's River (outside of Fresno). We left work on Thursday night and headed up the to SLO to crash at Marc & Holly's place. Then an early departure from there got us to the camp around 11:30 Friday morning. We were quickly followed by Jeff and Skip about a half hour later. Most people, however, trickle into the camp anywhere from 5pm to after midnight. We try to get up there early just to secure the camp spots that the group seems to like. I realized as we were driving through the back roads outside of Fresno that I had forgot my camera. Fail!

Saturday morning found the camp pretty full of people; Colin, Janice, Tim, Billy, Melissa, Skip, Jeff, Steve (along with Maggie), Chris, Han, Marc, Holly, Rich, Cheri, Trent, Barbara and I. What a group!!!

It was cold up there; About 60 degrees. That, in and of itself, is not that bad. But, when you are rafting in water that is in the low 50's and the wind whips along the river, it gets cold out there quick. It was suggested we bring wetsuits for this years outing. Well, I'm sure not going to bring my thick diving wetsuit...I'd never be able to paddle. Luckily, Barbara and I got to borrow a couple wetsuits on site. They helped a ton. It was still cold...just a bit more bearable for the couple hours on the trip.

This year there were a couple of boats. Billy brought his boat, and I got to ride in it this year. He used to guide for Zephyr on the same stretch of river, so he's pretty familiar with all of the rapids here. We had seven in the BillyBoat; Marc, Skip, Myself, Barbara, Melissa, Jeff and Billy (most of the time). Billy jumped out of the boat on one occasion and told us we were on our own. We only had one close call and almost lost Skip and Barbara to a rapid.

Barbara was a bit apprehensive about the trip (as was I last year). But, all fears were allayed after about 10 minutes on the river. Yes, the rapids were wet, and cold...but, they were exhilerating! I was given the Barbara seal of approval for this activity (with the fine print of "hates the frigid cold").

After the Saturday trip down the river we got a small group together and played a quick game of Settlers of Catan on an unoccupied picnic table. We had to put a time limit as Trent, Barbara and I had dinner duty. It was Chris, Trent and Barbara's first Settlers game. I had only ever played the game online. I am not quite sure why it doesn't exist in our pile of games at home...

The Mac & Cheese seemed to be a hit again. We three cooks gathered around and reviewed the recipie for next year. What changes need to be done? What went right? What went wrong? They will have to wait until next year until they find out.

There was to be another trip on Sunday; Our team bowed out. Trent said he didn't want to get back tired from the rafting trip just to turn around and drive 7 hours. I can understand that. Barbara and I were not really sure we wanted to battle the cold (which looked to be colder than yesterday). So, we waved to the Sunday boaters and headed out for home.

The Fall of Fenninkainen

Most of the people that read this blog already know this. However, I felt that I needed to write about it anyway. Recently, I lost a very dear friend. I have been friends with Shawn for just around 20 years of my life. He was a member of 'the gang'. Probably considered one of the founding 'members'. Much like most of the rest of 'the gang', I really consider Shawn more family than friend. To say that his death hit us all pretty hard would be an understatement.

He could tell me a truly unbelievable tale and I, somehow, would fall for it...every time. Some of these stories I may never live down :). I think it was just his delivery. He had a natural gift for storytelling. From searching a haunted house in Call of Cthulhu by candlelight to trying to speak with his character who only spoke Japanese (even though Shawn didn't), you couldn't help but get so into the scene that you forgot that you were not actually there.

He also had a gift for planning and strategy. Many a DM's plan was foiled by the twinkle in Shawn's eye. It didn't matter what the genre. Magic problems? Give him an ice bucket...he'll have a solution. Futuristic tech getting you down? No problem! Where's that old fashioned projector? Evil wizard in the party too powerful for you to take out? A little Trap the Soul will have the good guys back on track in no time.

His plans were never expected. As long as they didn't rely on the luck of a die roll, they seemed custom made for the situation at hand. But, dice hated his plans. If Shawn had a gaming tag line it would be "Great Strategist, Lousy Die Roller". He even had the shirt to match.

His games (Deadlands, Call of Cthulhu, Vampire, Boot Hill) were universally enjoyed and well attended. His characters (Fenninkainen the True, Simon Q Hawke, Akira, Pavilon Hexagonal, Flash) became iconic characters to us.

Obviously, the majority of the time I spent with Shawn was around a game table. The majority of the time I spent with most people for those 20ish years was around a game table. Board games, role playing games, even card games. That is what we did. But, I also spent hours with him on the paintball field. Sang along to The Bobs while driving around. Saw countless movies (even one that we all agreed no longer exists in our reality). I even hiked up to Tahquitz Peak in the San Jacinto mountains with him once.

He always had a witty comeback or a sarcastic remark to make you smile. So many stories and memories. I am glad to have been able to call him a friend. Shawn will be missed, but, never forgotten.