Living It Up in the O-Town

This passed weekend I embarked on an experience of which I’ve never had before. I was all set to drive out to Ottawa to head out for a resort in the death defying experience of white water rafting. The trip was arranged by my sister so the trip consisted of myself, my weekend companion and good friend Ms. Julia Wilson and fourteen of my closest acquaintances.

The trip there was off to a rough start when my sister’s moronic boyfriend was two hours late for departure, the reason of which I could only deduce, that he had difficulty putting one foot in front of the other to make it into his car. That aside, Julia and I hit the rode with new friends (and couple) Alie and Chris. Driving up with them was fun, they were friendly, conversational and were able to do what I love most: crack jokes about Brent and another of my sisters incredibly ridiculous and overall bitchy friends, Krista W. (The apparent high school teacher with the social skills and manners worthy of a nursery school student). The car ride was a bit wearing, by the end of the seven hour excursion Alie and Chris’s incessant referral to each other as “babe” practically every time they addressed one another made my want to crawl out the tiny car window. But my confined moodiness aside we arrived at the Owl Resort on Friday around 9:30.

The task of setting up camp came next, and at such a late hour with no fire and obviously no light, we began the crazy task of setting up the tent, while holding our drinks. The tent made it up with sufficient ease (minus one burn hole from Julia balancing the cigarette, but hey it was her tent). Next came the air mattress, because really, who sleeps on the ground anymore? We cleverly (or so we thought) purchased an air mattress with a built in foot pump for quick and efficient set up. Wrong. Never EVER purchase this type of air mattress under the illusion that is ACTUALLY will inflate, as it most definitely will not. Despite these setbacks Julia and I managed to secure our shared love nest for the weekend and get to drinking.

It turned out that there was a big Laurier function at the resort this weekend as well so there was a band each night in the pavilion with kegs and dancing to cheesey 80’s/90’s cover music. After a few drinks it seemed like the best dance party of all time, I assure you. In the cruel light of day, I’m sure not so but nonetheless…

After a late night, the blazing sun of the early morning woke us grumpy ladies up at and early hour in time for the breakfast rush and headed out into the beach complete with paddle boats and an in lake slide. Finally it was time for the rafting portion of the Ottawa adventure.

With the geekiest lifejackets helmets and paddles in tow we boarded a school bus that took us to the Ottawa River. Cut to the hottest rafting guides you’ve ever seen, the boys look like they walked right out of an American Eagle advertisements (although slightly less homosexual looking).

The trip itself was amazing it was about a six hour run down the Ottawa River. We went nose first thought he first rapid and another groups raft flipped right over, our raft was all filled with water and it was awesome. You really have to hold on for dear life and paddle so you don’t fall out. I don’t really feel there is a way to do justice the experience in words. We took a break with the other rafting groups at the half way point and the guides offered us a chance to jump from one of the cliffs beside our resting point. Julia and I both did it and it was crazy! I wasn’t nervous when we climbed up but when the guide said to step down near the edge and I saw the drop my heart leapt a little. But I managed to suck it up and take the plunge (literally). Definitely something I would do again and refer to others.

Our guide Ben, looked and sounded exactly like actor Edward Burns (see the picture to the left, minus the gun of course), the similarities were uncanny. I’m sure this would be considered irrelevant to many of you, but it’s my blog and I’ll do what I want!

The rafting venture ended with a few more rapids and water and awesomeness, we had dinner on a pontoon boat and coasted back to the resort for a viewing of our trip in dvd form and of course, drinking. My sister’s friend Toni who literally makes every male life form fall all over themselves at the wink of her eye, met up with one of the guides, Shane. Shane led their raft and had a very seductive Irish accent.

Shane took us around the secret campground of shanty platform tent houses that the guides live in, but if you think about it, living in a shanty summer dwelling for the summer while you get paid to white water raft all day would totally be worth it. It might just be the sweetest deal of all time job wise, especially coming from the girl who works crappy nine hour shifts and meets random weirdos on her job (as the previous blog clearly indicates).

I’m not sure what the point of this entry actually is, just reminisce over the events of my weekend in the Ottawa River and actually doing something of substantial note this weekend, that everyone should go to the Owl Resort in Foresters Falls and I’m envious of the many people I seem to encounter in my life who have the sweetest jobs ever.

For the rest of the pics of the trip go here: http://public.fotki.com/kcmcbc2/