Merrily merrily merrily

An extended version of the VFH crew went tubing down the Delaware last week. Janet's daughter and her fiance came along for the er, float. We spent a lazy afternoon basking in the sun and drifting with the current. I have yet to experience a more endearing activity that requires so little effort. It was a hot day, but the sun was not fierce and the water was cool. We tootled down the river, sometimes splashing, sometimes dunking ourselves, sometimes bobbing around rocks and spinning in eddys. It was a leisurely, playful afternoon and Janet's daughter eventually became a fan although she was at first worried about snakes.

There are two tubing places along this stretch of the Delaware. One is in Pt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania. River Country offers an "early bird" special of $13 if one checks in before 11:30 am. I have often rented canoes from them; in fact I purchased a surplus Old Town 158 Discovery from them some years ago. But I never went tubing with them.
www.rivercountry.net/

Partly because we were unable to check in by 11:30, we opted instead for Delaware River Tubing. They are pricier, at $23, but with this price comes a meal from something called The River Hot Dog Man. Halfway down the length of the trip there is a concession stand floating near the shoreline of an island. The allure of a couple of hot dogs, or a hamburger as well as either a bag of chips or a candy bar with drink was too much to ignore, as well as Adam's gut grumbling at the prospect of a "free" meal, so we decided to go to this Frenchtown, NJ establishment. http://www.delawarerivertubing.com/



A couple of caveats about this place though. They charge you $6.00 to park. This is something new, for we had last gone tubing a couple of years ago with no such extraneous cost. I knew the other establisment always charges for parking, which is all ridiculous. There is an easy solution to at least the Jersey place. If you're interested in tubing with Delaware River Tubing, I suggest you park in the New Jersey state parking lot that serves as a boat launch area and is situated directly across from the entrance of Delaware River Tubing on Route 29, and where the bus drops off their tubers (no not potatoes). There should be ample parking at this lot, at least during the week. I've been by it on the weekend and it is brimming with cars. Anyway, after you park you simply cross Route 29 and walk up a short road to the site. I felt it was ridiculous that they would charge us, but if the boat launch parking area is filled, you'll have to pay their price.

The last time we had gone tubing, the Frenchtown establishment was a sleepy place, but it had jumped the shark. I suppose with the economy a lot of people are staying closer to home and enjoying simpler things, but Delaware River Tubing had gone ballistic with all the extras they offered. To get to the shed to make your payment you had to pass underneath a long tent that had several "toys" for purchase. Things like water bazookas and pistols, and water tight compartments and t-shirts and water proof cameras and stickers were all for sale. They had changing rooms and showers and mountains and mountains of tubes. It was far different than when we flounced upriver to the place and they dropped us off and picked us up in a half filled bus. This time we had to wait for the next bus as the first was filled. The driver of our chariot said this has been the best summer season so far in all the years he'd been with the company.

One by one we plopped into our tubes and meandered downstream. Adam played like a little kid, and kept rinsing himself off by jumping in the water, putting water grass on his head and
when he found a clam he kept it for a good while and gave it a British style bawdy name.

We kept to the right of the islands, although they recommended we stay to the left on the Jersey side. At times the Pennsylvania side got very shallow and once or twice we had to get up and walk our tubes along, but because of this we basically had the river to ourselves. All the commotion from other tubers (not potatoes) were on the far side of the island. It was much more tranquil, that is, until we reached the River Hot Dog Man.

With music blaring from speakers atop a barge moored just off an island, the scene was chaotic but fun. People formed a line from the island and stood in the water to get their "free" food. The line was long, but moved quickly enough. More people would float down to the site while others, finished with their meals, would plop onto their tubes for the second half of the journey. To eat our lunch we sat at one of several picnic tables that were also in the water, with the seats just above the surface. It was a very unique experience.

Just past the River Hot Dog Man cliffs rise majestically on the New Jersey side and there are a series of rock shelves that make this area especially beautiful for me. As we drifted we admired the rock wall and dodged the shelves that formed little channels in the river. By then it was later in the afternoon and the sun was warm and there are a few minor rapids in the water on this stretch. We bounced up in down in the turbulent water. And, just as it seemed as the trip was too long, the stone pillars from an old bridge are sighted. This is where we get out. The pillars are all that is left of the bridge and the only modern item in a world of greenery and timeless water. They look like a set from a post-apocalyptic science fiction film.