More on The Year of Firsts

Hey people,

It's time for an update on the Year of Firsts. After a few summer trips under my belt, I've certainly added more to my list. So here it is... unveiled, untamed, and frankly, just uncomplicated.

1. I went wake boarding at Lake Pyramid! Yeah, this was a great use of my muscles. I was sore for a few days from hanging on for dear life while I accidentally went over a big wake on my first time getting up on the board. Not being a naturally athletic person, it took 6 tries before I actually got up on the board. Of course, Kimi did it on her first try. This "first" gets two big thumbs up on the Leah scale. Thanks to Kimi for the invite. We met a ton of cool, adventurous people.

2. We were rescued by two guys on a wave runner. Two girls on the Lake Pyramid Trip and I went out into the water on a Sea Doo so I could wake board off the back when the rope got caught in the propeller. Once we realized we got stuck, I waved over two guys who came to the rescue. They towed us in without complaint even though we sucked up all their expensive gas. After coming to our rescue, they gave us a crazy ride on their turbo charged Sea Doos. Again, two thumbs up!

3. I ate Kus Kus! Okay, so maybe it's not that exciting in this culturally diverse melting pot of a country we live in, but for me, it was indeed a first. I can't even remember who brought the stuff, but I ate it while camping at Lake Pyramid a few weekends ago. So what did it taste like? It was kind of grainy and it tasted like rice and oats. That doesn't sound appetizing, but I'd eat it again no problemo.

Due to my lack of descriptive skills, I've enlisted some help. Here's the wikapedia def:
consists of spherical granules made by rolling and shaping moistened semolina wheat and then coating them with finely ground wheat flour

Now for some better "Firsts"!

This week Kimi, Shyla, Cami and I went on a two day white water rafting trip at Lake Isabella. Here's all the "firsts" I encountered on this trip.

4. White Water Rafting in California (I've been to other countries and states, but oddly enough, I've never WWR in CA)

5. My friends and I floated (without the boat) through a long class 2 and loved it!

6. I witnessed an event known to our crazy rafting guides as "fire fun" (see kimi.puen.net if you want to watch it on video!). Really, it's just a trick that almost burned down the forest. Smokey the Bear would be so ashamed!

7. We played Dead Ball in the water. This is basically throwing a football to the each raft as you float down the smaller rapids. The only part that sucks is when you have to keep paddling to retrieve the ball. Man, that was a lot of work!

8. I ate homemade ice cream. YUM is all I have to say. Kerley and Dave did a really good job of cranking it up. We then poured the ice cream over the brownies they made over the fire. A-Mazing!

9. I visited the town of Bodfish...and survived! You have never seen a scary, creepy small town until you've been to Bodfish. There's not even a Wal Mart! My favorite site in Bodfish is the sign that said, "Bodies moved for free." No joke people! We also stopped at the local "Sports Bar" for a pic and some laughs.

10. We camped out in an ABANDONED campground! How creepy is that! Four girls, and fifty other empty camp spaces straight out of a cheap budget thriller scene. I won't even mention the lack of sleep due to the extreme heat and the fire ant incident, but I will mention how I watched two people pull up to the water and drag what appeared to be some bags into the lake. ummm... maybe those guys were just employees from the free body removal service. Not really sure. Even despite the circumstances my way cool friends and I made the best of it. We laughed our brains out during the entire ordeal.

and last but not least...

11. We fed a bunch of random firefighters ice cream while in the town of Lake Isabella. After our first day in the Bodfish and Lake Isabella area, things were looking pretty bleak until we met some firefighters (George and Ryan) from Moreno Valley. What luck! They asked us to come visit them at their post since they were all really bored. Most of these guys have been working since June 7th. They are working on the huge Piute fire that was burning just over the ridge from where we were staying. The other firefighters are from all around Riverside and LA county. They were such nice guys, I kind of feel bad for making fun of the Captain's very miniature and not so masculine cell phone. :)

Okay, so there are my firsts for the summer so far. Next up on the list of summer plans: Coldplay concert, Deep Sea fishing and jungle zip-lines through Mexico, and another trip to Nascar. I'll keep you posted.

Vaya Con Dios