Biking and Tube/paddle/hike-ing!

O the Bliss of waking up to birds chirping and a gentle breeze blowing through the tent!
after a delicious breakfast of yogart and fruit parfett's, it was time to take the bikes out for a lil ride around the Park. man, i have respect for Triathete's. i dont know how you sit on that seat so long! it was a good work out, Lake Anna is not too hilly, it was fun exploring around. just before heading back to the campsite we biked down to the lake and before we knew it, Brittany and i were watching Aimee roll herslef (purposefully) right into the lake! twas great!
After we broke down the camp, grabbed a quick bite, and dropped some things off at Aimee's, we were off to the Rappahanok for some Tubing!!!
after our intense morning of biking, we were ready to chil in a tube and float down the river for a couple hours. we were quickly becoming very grateful for our awesome water shoes when we had to walk our tubes over the rocks, through the algae and seaweed and shallow parts which were becoming more frequent! though we got a good distance of relaxed floating, when we turned the corner the wind picked up...and it was blowing against us. Since the river was quite low, the current was overpowered by the wind and we found ourselves layin on our stomachs paddleing with our hands and arms through the river. poor Britt kept getting caught on rocks and algae patches, she was about done.
None of us had been on this river before so though we knew our end destination, we had no idea how far away it was or how long it was going to take us to reach that point. we had anticipated it taking us about 4 hours. none of us had watches or anything with a clock so we had no idea where we were or what time it was. for reals, it was crazy! lol
there came a point where we realized when we walked through the water vs. floating and paddleing we were going faster. and our backs were getting a break, so we just walked it. tripping and falling all over the rocks. stepping in seaweed and algae. sinking in the sand as we walked. Then, Aimee said "If only we could find a trail that goes through those woods over there." not even five minutes later, she spots something in white rolling through the woods and ventures towards it. Britt and I follow her and sure enough, the white figure she had seen was a biker, thus leading us to the Trail! with our tubes on our backs we climbed onto the trail and began walking. Some more bikers came through, we must have been a strange sight. 3 girls in their bathingsuites, dripping wet, carrying water tubes. they informed us that the trail would lead us to Fall Hill and we were so excited! by this point we still were unsure of how long we had been in the water. we kept walking...and walking...andwalking! walked under 95 and up and over a huge hill and finally came to...The Fall Hill Ghetto! lol. k, picture it again, 3 girls, bathingsuits, water tubes, dripping wet, walking through the Ghetto.
Luckily i had brought a shirt along with me, i had no idea why, but Aimee was able to us it and britt and i used our deflated tubes to cover as we walked through. got on to fall hill and reached the truck! what a glorious site to see! FIVE HOURS LATER!!!!! and had we stayed in the river and trecked on, it would have been another 2 hours!
after that, we were STARVING! we ended the day with Pizza and icetea at Aimee's.

hours later, after we were showered and ready to crash, Britt discovered that our route was a 6 mile stretch, of which we stayed in the water for about 4-5miles.

for future trips, we will be bringing a waterproof camera for the many hilarious moments (such as falling out of the tube, or slipping on the rocks...) we will be making sure that we get out sooner! and that the river is higher so that there will actually be a current to take us and help us avoid all those stinkin rocks!

it was an awesome day, and we all slept very soundly and well!