It has a been a busy week. Our friends Jim and Susan Merel are here from NJ. They were active members of our church there in Linwood. We went white water rafting with them on Wednesday. Just a perfect day weather wise, and we had an awesome time. I never thought I'd go and do such a thing since I'm not a great swimmer. However, the guide we had in our raft was an awesome guy. He helped us navigate the rapids in fine fashion. Susan fell out once, and the rest of us managed to stay in the raft. There were about 50 people on the trip. About 8 rafts (with 4 people in them) and lots of two-seater kayaks called "duckies."
At first it was a bit intimidating, but as we got into it, we were more relaxed and had a better sense of what to do. I actually found myself looking forward to the next set of rapids and rocks. They guide would serve as the rudder of the raft and we'd paddle as he instructed. There were only two rafts with guides, the rest of the people chose to do it without a guide. Upon looking at the video afterward, I saw that our decision was a good one. Just about every raft capsized at least once.
Afterward we headed home and fund a place to eat in Uniontown. and headed home. the Laurel Highlands White water company did well by us. We rafted the lower riber there at Ohiopyle. It's a category 2-3 in difficulty. That means it descends about 17 feet every mile. Our trip was about 8 miles long and lasted about 4 hours. They had lunch for us midway. It was deli sandwiches and lemonade or iced tea. Adequate. And though Dee was very apprehensive at first, she was heard to say - "Yes, I'd go again."
On Thursday we took our friends to the Strip District in Pittsburgh and visited many of the shops there. We had lunch an a small Italian restaurant called "On the Strip". Very authentic. And then rode the Monongahela Incline to the top of Mt. Washington to see the panoramic view of the city's skyline. Crystal clear day. We walked in to some of the restaurants like Buca and the one in the old train station just to see the decor.
Susan was so take with the old train station, that she suggested we come back there for dinner. We did and it was superb. We sat facing the city at night. The Smithfield Street Bridge was all lighted up as was the city in general. It was a delightful evening of wonderful food and time to relax and visit with old friends.
Today they head back to NJ. Dee goes back to work, and I will be meeting with some friends for lunch. We both work tomorrow (Saturday).
