It was the summer of 2019 and my friend Droiy and I finally got to reunite because our families were going on a camping trip to a lake. I had been waiting for the entire summer to finally use our inflatable raft and to see my friend Droiy and now I had the chance to do both. When both of our families arrived everyone was so happy to see each other. I immediately dragged Droiy over to see the see the 4x1 1/2 raft and we both stared at it in awe just thinking of the great time we would have on the lake. Now all we had to do was ask for permission and inflate it, one of those steps we skipped. 

My friend and I figured that after we inflate it we could sneak it down to the shore when everyone had settled down and forgot about us. So we waited until it was about 1 o’clock and then we started a pinecone fight in order that the parents would just think that we were in the pinecone fight, not thinking we were gone. Finally, we made it out of our camp site and on to the lake. The lake was as pretty as we imagined it. The lake was perfectly still, except for the occasional ripple here and there from the fish, and you could see the beautiful empty sky reflecting off of it. It was the perfect conditions to go row the raft and go on an adventure to the other side of the lake where there was nothing else but forest. We took a quick look back to make sure we were not being watched or followed and then we walked into the water to about our thighs, just to make sure it did not pop on a sharp rock then we boarded the raft. Little did we know that these perfect and beautiful conditions would take a turn for the worse.

Everything was going great and just how we imagined it, plus we packed two bottles of water just in case we got thirsty. The raft ride felt like it took forever, but it was still very entertaining because we occupied our time by asking each other questions like “If you could build a superstar NBA team who would you starting five be.” The trip to the other side took about 50 minutes. We both let out a huge sigh of relief after that long time of constant rowing. The other side was amazing; there was nothing but forest. We took a quick hike which was fun until realized our clothes were covered with thorns. “OWW!” said Droiy. “You good?” I said. Then I  realized that he had stepped on a huge thorn that went through his sandal and into his foot. Right away he pulled it out and acted as nothing had happened. “Didn’t that hurt?” I said. He replied trying to act like it did not hurt with “Sort of.” That was the end of our hike. We made our way back to the shore. I found a log to sit on and started skipping rocks then Droiy joined me and did the same. Then, I realized that our parents were getting suspicious. I told Droiy, “Dude, we need to get back,” realizing that about an hour had passed since we left. Droiy and I hopped back in the raft and we were on our way. As we approached the middle of the lake, the wind picked up and the waves grew bigger and bigger. 

It took us a while until we realized we were getting nowhere and that our hopes of getting back soon were gone. All that was going through my head was what my parents would do. I knew we had made a mistake, but I was too proud to admit that. Though it was windy, the sun was still very hot and I could feel my skin slowly being roasted. I went to grab my bottle of water and that is when I realized we left our water bottles back on the other side of the lake, but we had already made it too far so we would just have to fight through the dehydration  We were on the lake for about two more hours until we saw our saviors, our dads. They were small little dots , but I could recognize my dad’s beat up Western Oregon University hat anywhere. It was not much longer of a wait until there inflatable canoe was right next to our raft. I woke up Droiy and he had a surprised look on his face like he was expecting to be stuck out here or much longer. “Need a lift?” my dad said with a smile on his face. I replied with a desperate “Yes!” They tied the canoe to the end of our raft and towed us back to our camp. When we reached camp no one really even noticed we were gone. 

We were not punished by our parents, but I was punished by my sunburnt face, shoulders, and back. Although we faced no severe punishment I still learned a valuable lesson from this experience and that is to always ask for permission in contrary to the phrase, “better to ask for forgiveness than permission”. I also learned to always check the forecast. Droiy and I did not go back in the raft since. The sunburn hurt, but I still had a great time.