Friday evening and Washington, D.C.'s predictable rush-hour traffic had us crawling our way toward Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in a drive that took five hours instead of the usual three. This was especially frustrating after Martens VW, the local dealer in Tenleytown, had let me put our weekend's silver-gray convertible Bug through its paces down Rock Creek Parkway. With no chance to open it up in mid-Atlantic gridlock, my wife Lisa and I arrived at the Inne at Watson's Choice (www.watsonschoice.com) at midnight, hitting the hay tired but ready for our weekend of rafting action in rural PA.

The wonderful breakfast at the B&B on Saturday was the perfect way to fuel up for our day on the Lower Yough, an eight-mile stretch of Class III-IV whitewater that runs through Ohiopyle State Park in southwestern Pennsylvania. We hooked up with Wilderness Voyageurs (www.wilderness-voyageurs.com) at one o'clock, joining about 50 other paddlers to run the Yough (pronounced "yawk") in a fleet of rafts. I'm proud to report I was elected captain of our boat for my previous whitewater experience, which had me barking orders to my fellow paddlers and steering from the back as we made our half-day run downriver.

Unfortunately, things didn't turn out so well for Lisa—she got bounced in several times, including one capsize that flipped most of the crew into the drink and resulted in some nasty bruises. The guides, three trailing in kayaks, were great at getting everyone back into their boats, though we did lose one rafter who bailed on the rest of the trip after getting too chilly. Hate to think it was my captaincy!

Dunks and bruises aside, we had an exciting, invigorating day through some tough stretches of water. It was a pair of tired yet happy paddlers who returned to their B&B base camp that evening, with just enough energy left in reserve to shower, duck out for some pizza at a local joint, and crash out for a well-earned sleep.