Sunday, September 7, 2008

Me, Mom and the Zip Line!!!!!

Today is the day. Today is the day the Traveling Hillbilly is finally going to do a zip line. What would it be like? Would the Traveling Hillbilly actually be able to go through with it or would the Traveling Hillbilly’s mother do it, while the Traveling Hillbilly sat by watching, too scared to take the leap? Would it be anything like sky diving?

It’s 7am and we are about to find out! We meet at the Eco Adventures store, sign a waiver too scary to read (one line on the form tells you, you are not allowed to turn upside down intentionally) and then hop in the van that will take us up the mountain. The ride up the mountain was an adventure in itself. It is only accessible in a 6 wheel drive. Talk about off-roading, we were tossed, turned, bounced up, bounced down before finally coming to a stop. We are fitted with harnesses, given helmets and some instruction about what to do when we start to spin! Spin? You mean we will start spinning? What about this turning upside down thing? I certainly would not do that intentionally but is there a chance that will happen accidentally? Are these things really possible, probable? Will I panic? My mind is running a mile a minute as we get back in the van for the remaining ride up to the zip lines. They should have given us helmets in the beginning. This last bit of ride was not nearly as bad as the first leg.

We make it to the top and it’s time for that first zip! There are 8 lines in total, each one longer than the other. The Traveling Hillbilly is shaking with fear. Will I accidentally turn upside down? Will I panic when I start to spin and not be able to turn myself back? After watching a couple of people do the first line, I realize it’s now or never for me. The longer I wait and watch other people go, the more nervous I’ll get. So I walk up, get snapped in and walk slowly down the steps before launching across the valley below. Wow! I scream all the way across! Some even said I was cursing along the way.

A few more people make it across and then I see Mom step up! There she is up on the platform, getting ready to do her first zip line as well. She takes a few steps down and then she’s flying across the valley! She’s actually doing it. Suddenly she turns and winds up landing on the platform backwards. It’s a little frightening but she handles it like a trooper and is ready for the next one.

Mom does four zip lines in all and I have to say I was so proud of her. Who knew mom had such an adventurous spirit? She has walked, hiked, climbed over rocks and zipped across the valleys above Kaanapali beach. I hope I still have her sense of adventure when I get to be sixty!

By the end of the tour, I’ve taken running jumps off the platforms and even pushed off backward! It never got an easier. I was nervous every time. My biggest fear was getting halfway across and stopping and having to just hang there for a while or seeing it happen to someone else! By the time we get to the last line, which is over 1,100 feet across, I decide to go first. I step up and zip across all 1,100 feet, thrill to have survived the day, adding one more amazing experience to my life and happiest most of all to have shared this adventure with my mom.

Interested in a zip line in Maui? Check it out

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