White water adventure on the Wenatchee
My parents have been in Seattle visiting for about a week now (of 3.5 weeks total–apparently retired people need more vacation time than the rest of the working world). Matt decided it was time for a big adventure and we went white water rafting out of Leavenworth yesterday. It was a 4.5 hr rafting ride that was a Class III ride–which was plenty exciting for my first time (I’ve done some rapids in kayaks and canoes in MA). Jesse and Deborah came too and we rafted through some HUGE drops and avoided crashing our head on some rock and concrete bridge pillars. The only person that fell off was some lady that wasn’t with us, and it was on the first set of rapids. It was very hot outside and the river was very cold, which are my ideal standards for swimming, so I was content.
Our river guide was a 22 year old guy that was living out of his truck for the summer and told us before the ride that he’s had two brain surgeries and is a cancer survivor. Even though he confessed to almost killing other customers on the river, he took good care of us and didn’t flip our giant raft. We did ram into a few kayakers on purpose 
He let us swim through one set of rapids and that was fun, except I was mostly underwater the whole time. I got to go through one set of rapids sitting on the bow of the boat like a mermaid-it was fun seeing everything up close like a roller coaster.
The swallows flew along with us and ate any bugs that gathered–I think I’d like to train a swallow one day for a pet and it can just eat the mosquitoes around me when I’m outside. But I don’t have much of a need for one now, the mosquitoes are quite an endangered species in Seattle. My parents survived the ride, they were smiling at the end, and I think I screamed more during the rapids than my mom. I’m so proud of them, trying a new adventure that is definitely out of the comfort zone. Deborah and I are ready for our second time to be a class IV—but I’m not sure if I can be the front paddler yet.