by Kelly A. Mello

Created on: June 21, 2008   Last Updated: March 22, 2010

There's nothing quite like sitting around a fire under the Maine sky, watching stars twinkle in and out, listening to Maine wildlife and having a beer with friends. There is a reason why Maine is dubbed "Vacationland." This is why I make it a point to visit Moosehead Lake Region at least once a year.

I would have to say my favorite memory of all my Maine visits would have to be the first time I ever went white water rafting. I was 18 years old at the time. Our rafting group my father, boyfriend, two friends and my friend's father.

When we first arrived at the rafting company, we signed a waiver that basically said, "We are not responsible if you die." While that was a bit daunting, we grabbed our rafting gear and got a rundown of safety precautions and proper paddling techniques. After everyone was up to speed on how to paddle down the river without impaling yourself on the rocks, we got on the bus that took us upriver.

Even the bus ride was fun. The guides made a little video that included us "paddling" the bus to our destination and getting bopped on the heads with paddles and falling down. It was complete with clips of us rafting down river and a music. To this day, whenever I hear "Blister in the Sun" and "People of the Sun" I think of that trip.

During the initial launch into the invigorating water, my nerves made my body tense up. This was it! The water was rushing past the inflatable raft and I already saw pointy rocks grinning evilly up at me from the bottom of the river. So I held my breath for a few seconds, and I was ready.

The first rapid we came to gave me a taste of what was to come. My body flailed around in the raft a little bit, but I maintained my composure and balance. After that, however, we definitely got the ride of our lives. On one of the more challenging rapids, the boat tilted to the left hand side, sending the opposite side of the raft to tumbling onto the rest of us. The troops sitting on the left side got launched into the water. I almost managed to stay in. Unfortunately, my short legs weren't long enough for my friend to haul the rest of me back in. At some point, the rest of me flopped out and all the remaining passengers could see of me was a bobbing helmet. I did eventually manage to make it back onto the raft after some hard swimming. Someone was kind enough to yank me by my life vest and pull me in.

I can't say falling out was all that bad, though. It was kind of fun just riding the rapids in my life preserver. It wasn't

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