Big Water California!

What drought (http://www.drought.noaa.gov/)? There was plenty of water as we tore down the Kern River while whitewater rafting in Class IV rapids with a group put together by Kern River Outfitters (http://www.kernrafting.com/). In fact, the water was three times as high and three times as fast as in previous years. For this reason, they gave us t-shirts at the end with the title "Big Water" on it. And we found out about the big water the hard way, as we tumbled through the rapids on our butts (and sometimes on our heads). Our guide, Keith, was fantastic - highly recommended. He prevented us from being flipped in our raft on more than one occasion, and dutifully came to fetch us when we did capsize into the cold, deep, fast-moving water (they call them "rapids" for a reason!).

Because the rafting was early and the Kern River is far from LA, we checked in the night before to Paradise Cove Hotel on Lake Isabel (located at 10700 Highway 178, no website), frightfully one of the better hotels in the area. The hotel was basic, with your standard issue Motel 6-quality beds and a dirt (or at least dirty) parking lot. But at least it was inexpensive. However, the steakhouse on the hotel's premises was quite good. We had two delicious steak meals, including salad and dessert, for under $50.