Tech Free 4th

This July 4th holiday we decided to do something different. We decided to go “low tech” for the entire day. That’s right, a completely “technology free” holiday for the Capone family. And what better way to go low tech, than to lazily drift down the Delaware River in a tube.



Our no technology holiday started at http://www.delawarerivertubing.com for information and directions. 


We were able to download waiver forms as PDF documents http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Document_Format and fill them out in advance. No waiting in lines for us! 


We plugged the address into our GPS http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Positioning_System to find out how long it would take to drive to the launch site. 


Sunscreen was going to be a must, but what do those SPF numbers really mean? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunscreen

On the way in the car we were able to learn about the history of  http://www.delawarerivertubing.com/DRTHistory.html

I thought it might be a good idea to check the river height: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/marfc/Stages/

And I guess the river temperature would be nice to know: http://www.delawareriver.net/temp.php

I did wonder about the difference in air temperature compared to the water temperature: http://www.weather.com/weather/today/Frenchtown+NJ+USNJ0168

Maybe we should download a map of the river? http://www.delawarerivertubing.com/Images/PageElements/DRT-RiverMap-3x4.gif

The website says that http://www.delawarerivertubing.com have been in business since 1987. That’s impressive. I wondered if they posted any videos? http://www.youtube.com/delawarerivertubing

When we arrived, my mind went to food (no shocker here). If we were going to be on the river adrift for hours, what about food?  http://riverhotdogman.com

 

It turns out the owner Greg Crance, or the Famous River Hot Dog Man, anchors his concessions stand off Resolution Island in Pennsylvania. "We have a big sign that says, 'We take credit cards,' and people think we're kidding," he said. https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/credit-card-reader

Greg and I talked about websites, social media and blogging. We might have found ourselves a new client for www.MTP-USA.com

We left our Smartphones in the car, so we had no connection to the real world while we were on the river. It simply would not be "smart" to take our phones out on the river as they could get wet. http://www.thewaterproofstore.com/phone.html

 

It really was an amazing day. I did not think that I was going to fare very well, going 100% “low tech” like this. But I made it - I survived the day without using any technology. Now I know what it must have been like to live on the Delaware River before there was electricity. 

 

I never thought I would ever enjoy camping, but I think I am ready. If they could only install free Wi-Fi at the National Parks, man that would be cool: http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/internet.htm