Staying away from psycho chick, I drank too much last night after I got back from rafting; I also had to wake up really early to go in to work for a bit.

Not feeling all that well, and having really no other place to go, I stopped by Terranea Resort for Sunday services around 7:30 AM.

We checked the conditions – the Point was really surgy and it looked like low tide with all the slimy rocks exposed.

I went to the cove where conditions looked good.

I laid down on a lounge chair at the sandy beach.

Divers made an easy entrance into the water.

The ocean makes such a relaxing sound – much more peaceful than a bat-shit crazy psycho woman.

I fell asleep.

I must have slept for almost two hours and then came to find out from Dive Bum Don that the hotel charges $25 an hour to use the lounge chairs.

I guess they will send me a bill?

Divers reported visibility was from eight to 10 feet, so things are improving.

It was Father’s Day and Dive Bum Don threw one hell of a party for both fathers and divers who can’t get laid.

It was just like the old days of debriefing, but we had to be as low key as possible.

We still got some mean looks from passersby, though.

Don had a few pictures of his father in the back of his vehicle.

Chips, dip, barbecued sausage and chicken made an excellent feast.

To my surprise, Wrinkles made an appearance.

I am going to keep extra clothes in my car so I don’t have to wear the same shirt two days in a row; yesterday’s river water kept it clean though.

Apparently, she is no longer with her boyfriend so she can start hanging out more often.

I will put her on my list of “women to hit on when I get my home back.”

A few faces that I haven’t seen for a while from Pacific Wilderness were here.

I needed to get closer to home; I left around 1 PM with the debriefing still in session.

I was determined to raft at least once this year, before the water level dipped to pinball levels.

On Wednesday, we didn’t have enough people to make the trip; on Friday everyone was calling me wanting to go.

The crew this trip consisted of Instructor John, Darnell, me and first timers for this group – James, Haylee and Ulli.

The Kern River death count is now at 251.

We were on the river at noon.

The water level was still running decent, but down from previous weekends.

The first run…

… Instructor John, Me, James, Haylee and Ulli.

The raft remained in control; everyone paid attention to the commands.

Lots of pits and hay stacks, especially over the Powerhouse rapids.

There was a photographer at the Ewing rapids, but as we found out later, they didn’t take any pictures of us the whole day.

The crew of the second run…

…Ulli, Instructor John, Darnell, James and Haylee.

The second run shoves off…

I sat out the second run and drove the van back down hill.

This is Ulli from East Germany – an absolutely fascinating and entertaining woman who slightly remembers how badly communism sucked.

To make Ulli feel safe, I wore my German Police shirt.

We ended up making two more runs; each run was about 30 minutes down four miles of river.

It seemed like half the rafters going down the Ewing rapids wiped out; we didn’t.

This was a perfect trip – everyone showed up and on time, traffic there and back was light, nobody fell out of the raft and everyone did their share of what had to be done.

We’re not sure when the next trip will be, but it may not be until next year.