River-Runner

We are experiencing a heat wave! Not unlike the one in 1977 where every day you wake up to the promise of a scorcher and where being either in or by water is the best solution to beat the heat as they say. By yesterday afternoon I was convinced that if I returned here to my shoe box apartment I would continue to feel nauseous so I got myself down to the river where people park on the side of the highway and trek down short paths at the end of a large bridge to the rivers' shore.

I had a day like no other in my experience. The river was long and only in a couple of places over my head. The current was just the right velocity so that I felt safe simply lying on my back and floating down the river in a perfectly relaxed condition. I followed the river either floating, bumping my bum on rocks as the current carried me or walking on land right down to where it empties into the ocean! I wore a pair of roomy Capri's and a long sleeved rayon shirt along with my rubber soled beach shoes. The perfect attire for me to enjoy the river long hours, have some protection from injury from rocks and to avoid painful and damaging sunburn. There were times my shirt ballooned out with water causing me to appear like a sumo wrestler. Evidently I even inspired a women who had forgotten her bathing suit to at least wade into the water with her summer dress on!

The water itself was quite clean except from the organic debris collected on the rocks that would get disturbed when stepped on and end up floating as visible pieces in the river. When I ended my adventure I felt quite clean though.

The other good feature was that there were enough people and families strewn along the banks and huddled together at the swimming holes that I felt safe. I even left my back pack on the shore by a small shrub and lo it was still there when I returned a couple of hours later. It was great exercise too walking and swimming at times against the current which usually left me in the same spot I started in when making the effort to swim against it.

Laura Lee, 60 years old.