We used the French Broad Rafting Expedtions company for our adventure. Our guide was a tiny woman named Corey who has been rafting this river for 9 years. She knew her stuff and explained to us the 'finesse' it takes to get through the river. Some men just want to muscle through the rough parts, but her approach is to read and respect the river. I like it.
As our gear was given to us to try on and adjust, Jen asked one of the guides if her helmet was strapped on tight enough and on right. The guide said, "Well, first of all it's on backwards...". I wish I had a picture of that one to share with everyone. They said someone always does it so Jen was thanked for taking one for the team.
One highlight of the day was seeing a flock of geese ride themselves through a class 3 rapid. We watched and laughed as they bobbed their way through it and came out on the other side fine. Then they got up and flew off to get out of our way. Which made us all come to the only possible conclusion: If they could fly over the rapids to avoid it, and they flew right after it, they had to be doing it for fun just like us.
The other amazing sight, besides the amazing views of mountains surrounding us, was watching a bald eagle soar along the river and fish. It then perched along a tree and watched us all float by. Gorgeous.
At one point the guides stopped us so we could jump off a rock into the river. Jen got right up there and jumped! She said she thought everyone was going to do it, but realized as she got up there that none of us were behind her! The water was a bit cold for me to jump, so I watched and cheered. (Jen: I was scared to death once I got up there on that rock. I thought the rafting guide was going to jump first to show me how it was done, but he just goes, "Stand on this rock and just take a big step out and to the right. No, not left - to the RIGHT." My heart was pounding out of my chest, but I managed to do it and was shaking a bit afterwards. It was about a 20-foot jump. There was a class IV rapid towards the end of our run and we got to watch 2 guys from another boat get launched out. Everyone in our boat managed to stay in; that was a fun one.)
After the tour ended we could hardly keep our eyes open. We made it back home and took very long and deserved naps.
Mela was our evening destination for Indian cuisine. It was delicious! I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Asheville. (J: YES, absolutely! When I came back from the bathroom and saw a tiny little container of leftovers sitting on the table, I asked Stacey, "Is this it? This is all we're taking home?" She said, "Yes, I told the waitress we didn't want the other stuff." Me: "What?! I wanted it ALL!" Seriously, this was some of the best indian food I've ever had -- better even than in India.) We then ventured down the block and stumbled into Bo Bo Gallery for drinks and live music. They were featuring Chelsea Lynn Labate for their singer/songwriter night. She's from Florida! Her music and lyrics were fabulous so we bought a cd and will share it. (J: The place was really cool, with fun art on the walls and a good crowd for a Wednesday night. Actually, we've found that no matter what the night, there are lots of people out and about downtown; I love that. Sorry about the blurry pics -- if I use my flash @ dusk, the pic turns out too dark so I have to turn the flash off and try to hold the camera STEADY, which I'm not very good at. At least the colors come out true-to-life, though, which is more important to me than a crisp image.)
Day 5 will bring us more hiking in the Pisgah national forest. (J: Yay! More waterfalls -- my favorite!)
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