Campfires and Calm

So last weekend I went on a float trip. I've never been on a float trip before, and I haven't been camping in years. It was awesome. Honestly, it was probably one of the best weekends of my entire life. I went with a whole bunch of people from the pool I lifeguard at. The absolutely wonderful thing about that job is that it's more than a job, it's a life in and of itself. We're pretty much all a family (with a few awkward second and third cousins who are never around thrown in the mix). People hang out with each other outside of work, have parties, and go on float trips. I almost didn't go. I was afraid it would be awkward because, though I love everyone at work dearly, none of my super close friends were going. So instead of hanging out with brothers and sisters, it would be more like cousins. But I'm so glad I went! It was awesome. I'm not even really sure how to explain why it was so fun. I think it was just carefree. Floating down a river, the water cool and the sun hot. The rocks were slippery, covered in algae and fuzz. We sang and laughed, chatted and chilled. It was lovely. There were a few mishaps along the way, but everyone got out alive, and (for the most part) unhurt.
The only truly scary moment was poor Renee. She'd been floating along with her boyfriend, Pat, in an innertube. We had four large, bright blue rafts and four black rubber innertubes with us. Somehow, no one can really figure out how, she got run over by two of our rafts! She'd gotten out of the innertube or something and was just floating along in the water. It was super shallow (only around two or so feet deep) and the bottom of the river was quite rocky. Our rafts ran over her, and somehow no one saw her. It was one of those freak accident things. Red eyes, lots of coughing, bruises, and a small fear of the river later, she was okay. We are lifeguards, after all! It was scary, though. We all definitely paid a lot more attention to the whereabouts of our innertubers after that!
After getting back to the campgrounds, we just chilled. It was so nice. Campfire and chairs, games, conversation, food, and music. I think part of how lovely it was was simply the fact that the whole weekend felt so carefree. We all see each other sweaty and gross and chloriney at work anyways, so there was no pressure to look good. Sometimes not wearing makeup or worrying about looks is so freeing and relaxing. Basically, it was just chill. Exciting and fun, but chill too. Even though those things don't really seem to go together, they did, merging together in a perfect mix of a wonderful weekend.