Back in the day when I was a Boy Scout in Brooklyn (go ahead make your own jokes here), we used to attend summer camp at Ten Mile River campgrounds in upstate New York along the Delaware River. As I remember, I was not a particularly good scout. There was hiking with 30 pound backpacks up trails that made Vietnam look like a park, food worse than anything I’d ever eaten (remember I’m Italian and baby, my Mama could flat out cook), and chopping more wood than Paul Bunyan in a Brazilian rain forest. But the one thing that made the whole experience tolerable and more than that…FUN…was the Delaware River and all the fun we had on it, tubing, rafting, canoeing and kayaking. I lived for those days when the Scoutmaster, Mister “G” (seriously, that was what we called him) would announce that in lieu of a Bataan Death March or tree whittling we were going out on the river for a day of pure pleasure. There would be a holler akin to Manchester United winning the Barclay League Championship. But with less beer.
Recently, I got to relive my childhood (without the pimples) when I took a trip up Route 28 in Frenchtown and discovered that not only was the river ready to greet me and welcome me back, but I didn’t have to hike back to the starting point miles upriver. Dude, this was gonna rock! At Delaware River Tubing, Inc. everything I remembered as being fun was there, but better than I could ever have recalled. They had the tubes, the kayaks, the rafts and the canoes, and they had shuttle buses, so there was no walking involved. The river was located a short walk away from the parking lot and the shuttle was there and waiting to take us back to the starting point when we arrived at our designated ending point along the river. And no backpack! Everything was neatly stowed away in lockers and awaiting our safe return. The river itself is a sight to behold…breathtaking scenery that makes you proud to be a New Jerseyan, with cool, clear water to refresh you on a hot summer day. DRT also sponsors special events all throughout the summer months and group rates are available for those company and school trips, or just for family gatherings. Perfect fun for perfect summer days.
But here is my favorite thing about tubing on the Delaware, something we never had when I was a scout…a really good lunch. No dried bark on leaf bread here. Trust me, you have to witness this first hand. I’m talking about The Famous River Hot Dog Man. Just drift downriver and choose the fun and fabulous meal of your choice. The barbeque is inspirational. And it makes a nice mid-rafting break in the action. Anything that stretched my day out a little longer was welcome, and this hit the spot. And nobody named Vito was shooting bows and arrows. That’s a plus right there.
