I’m not exactly sure how I ended up in a group of thirty people in canoes on the Russian River for the 4th of July. But there I was, wearing a life jacket and paddling through the shallow waters of the very peaceful river with friends. We had rented the canoes for the whole group and we were determined to make the most of our time on the water. The Russian River is a marvelous, serene place, and we were surrounded by ducks and geese the whole time. We paddled for a few hours and then stopped on a sandbar to have a picnic lunch, throw rocks and swim. It was a great day. After lunch, we paddled some (a lot) more as we had to rush to get back and return the canoes on time. As we were close, our friends somehow managed to turn the canoes upside down. The whole group kept following the route but we got to help our neighbors retrieve their paraphernalia and rejoin the crew.
On the day after we went to a concert in the Warfield Theater and it was super lit. I did not know the opening band, but it was such a good discovery. The headliner was incredible as it was a band I’ve been listening to almost a decade and had seen them live 7 years ago. We had a great time dancing and singing along to all the songs, and so was everyone else. Great energy.
Finally, on Monday, I joined some friends in at their place in the East Bay and we made a barbecue at the backyard until the evening, when we watched the fireworks. We drove through the Bay Bridge trying to watch the fireworks from Fisherman’s Wharf – but the fog made it look like the aurora borealis.
