Rollin' on the River

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One of my most favorite things to do in Healdsburg is to walk right into the river, flop onto my back and let the current just float me effortlessly downstream. A friend and I do that as often as we can. Today we floated for about a mile. Since the river is low, we walked and swam slowly back the way we came. I won't reveal where or how we gained access because some folks might not like it, but I will share my other favorite river stories:

On a hot day in late June 1997 I came to explore Healdsburg thinking I might want to live here. The hotter it got, the more determined my sister Beverly and I were to get into that river, no matter what. Driving along Bailhache, we took a random left on Brandt Road, ignoring all the “No Trespassing” signs. We drove straight down to the beach, pulled off everything but our underwear and jumped in, splashing about until a woman came and shooed us off. About seven years later when I met Mary Brandt at the HHS Class of 1940 reunion on her property, I recognized her as the woman who’d chased us off her beach. She actually remembered and thankfully didn’t chase me away a second time.

Last year, my friend Lillian Reid and I discovered that we could walk our poodles from my house, short cut to Badger Park off Second Street and take the long path to the river. I felt so empowered that I could actually have river access from my very own home. I let the current take me away that day and Lillian filmed me! It was a wonderful day. A Tom Sawyer type of day. The kind of day I moved to Healdsburg for!