Friday, August 4, 2017
Whitewater rafting trip, day 1 of 3. Breakfast at home with Patrick: slow-cooked scrambled eggs, garlic and rosemary bread toast, sausage patty, fried heirloom tomatoes, 8 ounces of orange juice each. Rode UberX to the Castro. Lunch to go from Saucy Asian: tonkatsu bowl, water. Around now is when we learned that Reed L had to back out of the trip. Picked up José. Left at 3 pm with Scott driving. Encountered standstill traffic on the way to the freeway. Crossed the Bay Bridge at 4:15 pm. Drove. We encountered many road delays from traffic jams. Gas stop followed by dinner at Whole Foods Folsom (916-984-8500, 270 Palladio Parkway) from the buffet: mango chicken, lemon-grilled vegetables, brown rice, Sonoma Cider sarsaparilla vanilla the washboard: about $11. This was probably the worst meal experience I've had in months even though the food was good. We encountered others who were driving to the campsite: Tim C, Ryan D, Michael C, and more. Everyone else ate indoors but I was forced to eat with strangers in the biergarten because I purchased a bottle of cider. (Why was no one else drinking? They weren't all driving.) Arrived at the campsite around 7:30 or 8:00 pm. My tent and sleeping pad rental is already set up. Drinks, snacks, chatting, helping others set up their tents, and watching some take a quick dip in the cold river until bed late. I shared a 750 ml bottle of Fireball, and by evening's end it was almost entirely gone.