Is this what they call 'waterboarding' . . .

Cause it was TORTURE!!!!

Okay, we are in the windsurfing capital of the world here in Hood River, Oregon and so, like any good tourist, we decided to give it a go. Now I ask you, what is fun about balancing on a little piece of styrofoam on water that would be considered Class V rapids, holding onto a massive plastic sail that clearly has a mind of it's own and weighs at least a thousand pounds that you are supposed to control in 50 mile an hour winds while sailing across the cove? And all this while still standing up! Hahaha. They don't have you put on a wet suit for nothing - cause you know - you do get a LITTLE WET!! You're in the water more than you're on the board (is that what we paid for?) - well, okay - some of us were in the water more. India was handling it like a pro in her neon pink wet suit and purple life jacket. She was doing swell (on the swells) - going back and forth across the water with ease. She pretty much put the rest of us to shame. Ezra seemed to handle himself pretty well too and had a lot of fun. Judah did okay too. Noah, Dad and me - um, not so much. Sometimes Gary seemed to really get it, then you'd look again and he'd be in the drink. Noah looked like a total surfing dude in his long, wet, windswept hair, but he too spent a little more time in the pond than on the board. I don't know why, but this absolutely terrified me. Just standing on the board not even moving, I was paralyzed with fear. I'm sorry, I just did not see the fun in this at all. It LOOKED fun, for those that were still standing and actually gliding back and forth like you were supposed to do. But it was so hard to control for me and I just gave up. Give me a raft on some white water any day.

What was really annoying to see was this really rad dude in just shorts and a tee shirt and designer sun glasses hop on his glow-in-the-dark orange board, and sail off without a care in the world. Over and back and over and back and then he just gently slides up onto the shore. I don't think he got his big toe wet - the show off. Don't these people have jobs? Oh wait - this was his job. He was just between lessons and decided to go for a ride. What a life - eh? Doing something so fun and getting paid for it. For me it wouldn't be windsurfing, of course, but I think being a riverrafting guide would be the bomb. What could be better than meeting a bunch of new people from all over the world every day, sitting on the back of an inflated raft, sailing down the river with the sun shinning down and the breeze blowing in your hair? Yeah, I could get paid to do that.

While I was on shore waiting for the rest of the family to finish, there were some professionals on the Columbia just cruising down the river with ease. See, we were in this little inlet that was 'protected' from the big gusts and not as windy. (Oh really??) You know, to practice in a safer area. (riiiight) And the real windsurfers were on the main part of the river and man, they were just flying - literally. We also saw some kite surfers - boards attached to these colorful kites that the wind just grabbed and screamed them across the water. Amazing to watch. After these guys were done surfing, they just stood on the beach and sailed their kites for fun. It was cool to see.

So, we've had our fill of water sports for a while. Well, actually, that's not true. After we got back, the boys still wanted to jump in the RV park pool. And me, well, I'd go rafting every day, as long as it was hot and sunny. Too bad the summer's winding down.

Anyone hear of the Pacific Crest Trail? It's a trail that goes from Canada all the way down to Mexico. It's quite popular and it actually passes through just a couple blocks from our RV Park. And today in the town we're in it's actually Pacific Crest Trail Day. Go figure. So there's all kinds of goings on here today. We may decide to hop on the trail just for a bit - just to say we did. But not today. Today we are resting after our two days of fun and hard work on the water. I can still hear Casey in my head yelling, "Forward paddle, please!" Even when he was hollering at us, he was still polite! But if I hear those dreaded windsurfing terms 'jibe' or 'tack' anytime soon - well - it will be way too soon for me!

Have a good weekend everyone!

Blessings,
jill and all