Day 0. Preparations for a trip to Egypt

Well, I am all packed, letting the time tick slowly until it comes time to go to sleep for a few hours before starting the trip. I think I have taken care of all things, so to pass the time along I have invited Chico to go for a canoe ride down the Tuolumne. A couple of weeks ago I bought a cool canoe, only 12 feet long, and I am dying to try it out. The purpose of a short canoe is so I can transport it easily (it fits in the bed of my blue truck!), and can go solo if need be. Of course, I would much prefer to have company, but I think I am loosing my touch and it is becoming increasingly difficult to ensnare an innocent soul into my crazy plans.

So Chico came at the appointed time, we loaded the canoe on my truck, and off we went. The plan was to put in near La Grange, and then canoe down for about 8 miles to the Turlock Lace campground. We were finally in the water at 12:45, trying to find our balance; it seems to be a pattern with me that I have to fall in at least once before I remind myself on how to balance, but Chico is an expert so I was hoping for a dry ride. It was not to be: At some point we had to make a sharp turn, the canoe took in water, and . . . we managed to right ourselves without ending in the drink! But the canoe doesn’t have much freeboard to begin with (or is designed for a man and a skinny woman, and two gorditos were pushing the limit), and with water we were floating about an inch from sinking. But we held in, moved the slow moving bathtub by the shore, and we managed to get out unto the sand with little more than a wet butt.

The rest of the run was uneventful, and what a run it was! We covered the stretch in about one and a half hours, not necessarily because we were rushing, but once we got on sink we barely wasted a stroke. It was a perfect afternoon, with the sun shimmering on the autumn colors of the trees, and I felt it was a great omen for the new adventure.

That afternoon I spent at Sandy and Chico’s, getting a foot reflexology massage, watching one of the Harry Potter movies, and having supper with my dear friends. When I got home at 8 pm I spoke with my parents for 5 minutes, hopped in bed, and slept like a log until 1 am.