I Run Like A Girl

This past weekend totally hit the spot. It was the first time it felt like REAL summer over here. We traded chilly SF weather for a day-trip up the hot and sunny Sonoma county, where I organized a fun river-float trip with a few close friends.

The Russian River is a popular day-trip from SF for floating on the river, lazy-river style. I went on this exact trip 3 years ago and have been wanting to do it again ever since 🙂

We all woke up early on Saturday to drive up to the river. It was an hour drive from the city and we got there around 9:30am to get a parking spot. Good thing we were early since the lot was full by 10am! It took some time to get organized and inflate our floats. Once we got everything ready, we decided to tail-gate a little bit to ease into the day, hang out, and pre-game before jumping into the river.

Then it was floating time! Our group felt super smart for creating a perfect square-formation out of our floats. That way we stuck together and had the perfect shape to all chat, hang out, and enjoy the gorgeous river views 🙂

Being on the river was SO relaxing. We were floating at 0.5 miles/hour (slower than walking speed), which was perfect as we kicked back, popped open some beers, and listened to music under the sun.

The Russian River was actually very scenic. There were lots of green trees surrounding the river and plenty of wild life too. We were in heaven.

Funny (and slightly traumatic) story: Joe and I shared a float, and at one point we hit a log which poked a HUGE hole in our float!! It all happened so quick, and within 5 seconds everything sunk under water. Luckily we are both strong swimmers and handled it somewhat gracefully. It was the funniest thing to happen all day, and certainly made the trip memorable! The whole crew was laughing at Joe narrating the entire event: “Did we hit something? I think it poked a hole. WE HAVE A HOLE! WE’RE SINKING! WE’RE SINKING!!!” It was hilarious. Luckily we had plenty of extra space on the other floaties for me and Joe, as our square became a triangle 😛

We came across a bridge with people cliff jumping and rope swinging. I was SO THERE! I can never say no to a good jump! Here is my attempt at the rope swing 🙂 It all felt so carefree and like my teenage summers.

The entire floating experience took around 4 hours and was just so chill and amazing. We did not want it to end!

After we reached the end point, we were all sunburnt and pooped! We packed everything up and had one last meal together at In ‘n Out on the way home. The entire trip was just what we all needed, especially after being cooped up for so many months in our apartments. I’m so grateful this trip worked out and I got to share it with all my favorite friends in SF. ❤