Tuesday, June 12, 2007

The River

The grove at Women's Grove swimming hole


Today was the first day of the season at the river. The day was warm - high 70s; the water was right chilly going in, but once under, it was lovely and you didn't want to come out. There was a big family gathering next to us, with lots of kids. While we were tenderfooting our way along the gravel and river rock, and easing our way into the water, the kids were racing barefoot along the rocky beach and plunging into the river at full speed. My god, when did we get so old and thin-skinned?

There are huge trees all around. Walking through and under them is like visiting the most beautiful cathedral in the world. Just watch for poison oak.

I remembered a river visit last Fourth of July. The marine layer (blanket of doom, someone called it) had settled in and it was butt-freezing cold in town. Fortunately, when it's like this here, it means that about an hour or so north, west, or south it will be good and hot. South it was, to the river for a swim. We found a nice, broad, mostly sandy beach, lots of trees, no poison oak on the path down. It was beautiful - sun was warm, breeze was cool, water was very warm close to shore, albeit still chilly midstream.

There were only four small groups of people there, counting us. One group consisted of 3 girls and 4 boys, probably around 17-18 years old, who were having a great time. All tanned, slender, healthy, nubile - the girls decided to go topless. So they all swam over to a big rocky outcropping on the other side of the river, climbed up and jumped off again and again and swam around until a woman in one of the other groups stood up and hollered at them, "Will you put your FUCKIN' tops back on? I have a FUCKIN' five year-old and a seven year-old over here, and I'm gonna call the FUCKIN' cops if you don't put your FUCKIN' tops back on!"

Parenting at its finest.

Anyway the discussion continued back and forth in this manner for a minute or two, then all the kids swam back to their end of the beach and tops were reinstalled. I just lay there remembering how lovely it was to be that young and carefree, and that alive.

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