We learned a valuable lesson when we took our raft, Sea Cloud, out on the river two years ago.

This is a good reminder for anyone floating the river during its opening weekend! A few years ago, my fiancé and I took advantage of Sports Authority going out of business to get a new raft to replace the one we sunk the one and only time we floated the river in 2015.  I will not let him live down the fact that we didn’t even make it to the Orange Bridge by the golf course during that ill-fated float.

In 2016, I had to give him props for making it all the way to Ann Morrison Park without popping and/or sinking the new raft.  It seemed like a great float until he looks and me, sticks his hands in his pockets and goes “oh, no.”  It was at that point that he realized that the keys for his car that was waiting for us at the takeout were in my car at the river drop-in at Barber Park.

I made him bum $3 off of somebody to ride the shuttle back to Barber and get my car, while I stayed at Ann Morrison, deflated Sea Cloud and worked on my tan.  An hour later? My car showed up and I was so sunburnt that if someone had mistaken me for a tomato, I wouldn't have been offended!

This will be the third year of us trying to float together since we didn't get a chance to do it because of the short season in 2017. Mark my words, I'm putting together a the river checklist for him so that we don't have a fiasco on our hands again this year!

Let this be a cautionary tale and ALWAYS remember to take your Ann Morrison Park car’s keys with you on your raft or tube! Have fun during the first weekend of float season!

More From 107.9 LITE FM