The land of the brave and free

Hey gorgeouses

While mates from NZ come to an end of their 2 year working holiday visas, my first bug trup has begun. Leaving the UK I felt I was leaving home - home is after all where your friends are, where your local playspot is, with tofu burgers on the bbq and the coffee smells like it's time to spring out of bed.

A couple of weeks of being a lady of leisure in Maidenhead coincided with the world cup and much time on the couch with beer in hand proved essential training for future kayaking expeditions. Time also for a last trip to the French Alps and some truly excellent playboating. Mike and Ritz get the friends of the year award for testing, buying and insuring the most immaculate car I have ever owned. Freed of car-shopping duties, I have instead been hanging out and connecting with local paddlers. Seattle has an amazing range of rivers within an hour or two of town. It's all been very relaxed - Ritz and I have been out trying new playboats on the Skykomish and sea kayaking on Lake Washington.

My first weekend in the States was the 4th of July weekend - Independence day. As we headed off to the Deschutes River in Oregon, we admired the number of houses swathed in red, white and blue. The Descutes is a lovely 3 day rafting run, and we drank beer and sat in sun and experienced the super mellow pace that is a US rafting trip. Shot any Indians lately? asked Ritz as we passed Warm Springs Reservation.

The best and cheapest fireworks are available on the reservations - to celebrate a holiday which is about as colonial as you get. It's against the law to set off fireworks in Washington State, but the locals were either blissfully unaware of the $500 fine or the sheriff never made an issue of it. Seattle went mad with double and triple happys, as rockets were set off in every back yard. There are so many trees here, I couldn't understand how the whole place didn't go up in
smoke.

We came home to the news that Sam Rainey had died on a river in Norway. The week went out of focus as I struggled to get to grips with something that is still more a matter for tears rather than coherent reflection. There have been lots of emails from the paddling community and like everyone, my thoughts have been constantly with Sarah and Sam's family and with Miriam and Ra who were with him on the river. Sam was a good mate, fantastic on the water and a lovely man. We will all miss him terribly.

Mike and Ritz and I took some time out off the water by joining friends on top of a mountain in the Canadian Cascades for the weekend. Lots of hugs, hiking, gin and dancing helped me gain some sort of perspective, and think cheerfully about paddling again. Like Mick says, sometimes
you have to be lucky ay.

Love and hugs to you all
Polly