Tubing Down the Delaware

On Friday I took the day off of work, put on an old pair of sneakers and some serious sunscreen, and drove up to Frenchtown, N.J. with some of my best friends to go tubing down the Delaware. I hadn’t been tubing since I was a kid and we
got a super fantastic deal from Groupon, so I was excited about going. 

I mean, any chance to take the day off of work and float around in the sun with friends is a good thing. So off we went for an adventure and a return to our childhoods.

The only thing I remembered about tubing from when I was a kid was the strange, squishy feeling of wearing sneakers in the water. Well there it was, back again! I wore my SpongeBob sneakers this time, not too far removed from childhood (because I have insanely small feet and can wear children’s shoes). But honestly, I wish I’d invested in some of the water shoes my brother and his girlfriend (who also happens to be my best friend) bought. But that only mattered when my feet were on the ground, which they weren’t for most of the time.

If you ever want to see a group of 30-somethings act like kids, stick their butts in tubes and shove them down the Delaware. We got into the water and were instantly filled with giggles as our butts got soggy and we tried to figure out how to effectively sit in a tube without flipping backwards. The answer is that you really have to sink your butt down in that hole to distribute your weight correctly.

Once you manage that, the challenge becomes to paddle closer to your friends and hold on like the last few Cherrios in the bowl. We figured it out eventually.

The other challenge for us was to figure out how to float fast enough to keep ahead of one summer camp group full of loud teenagers without running into the next one. We went on a weekday which meant that the majority of the people out on the river were summer campers and families. But, after the first few yards, as people spread out, it wasn’t much of a problem. The Delaware river is pretty
big and there’s enough space for everyone. So we floated along in our little clump, spending our time catching up since most of us work so hard we hardly get to see each other.

In the middle of the river for this particular stretch sits the Famous River Hot Dog Guy and for our package at least lunch was included. But really the Famous River
Hot Dog Guy is a bunch of high school age-looking boys working like mad to serve up enough hamburgers and hot dogs to feed at least a hundred blissed-out floaters. Talk about a summer job! More power to them for doing it. And yeah, the line was long and moved slowly, but “free” hot dogs. (Technically we paid for them as part of the package). Still, what more can you say? I’m not a hot dog fan at all, but something about having one handed to you with a Styrofoam cup of face-puckeringly sweet lemonade in the middle of floating lazily down a river just sighs summer and childhood all over.

By the second half of the trip we were all so warm and full and contented that most of us ended up drifting off on our own, kicked back enjoying the sun. Even the “rapids” couldn’t break through the bliss. Of course the “rapids” were really nothing more than glorified ripples. But they kept me awake. Not so for one of my other friends. By the time we got down to the exit to get back on the bus and drive back to our cars, he had fallen asleep and hit a slow current and was way behind. Now that’s what I call a nap.

So if you started reading this expecting to hear about a hair-raising adventure with danger and adrenaline around every corner, no, that wasn’t this trip. Tubing down the Delaware as a grown-up is more like a decompression chamber. My best friend joked at the end that she wants to make the board of the company where she works hold a board meeting while drifting down the river to keep everyone chilled out. That’s about the size of it. Somehow an entire afternoon slipped away while I was doing nothing but watching the scenery slip by and chatting with friends. Not a bad way to spend a summer’s day. And I managed not to get sunburned either.  It was a river full of win in more ways than one.

So yes, this is sort of a glorified advertisement. But I only bring it up because I am a firm believer in the fact that even the most grown-up adult needs to kick back and stop being high-powered and driven all the time. Take a moment to breathe and float and bask in the sunshine with your friends. Here’s the link in case you want to check it out and get your relaxation on.