I love
being scared when the actual risk of danger is relatively small: riding roller
coasters, visiting haunted houses, reading (and writing) ghost stories, watching
scary movies, etc. So when my best
friend suggested we take our families on a 3-hour zip line “Canopy Tour” in
Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, I agreed enthusiastically.
My two
boys have inherited this adrenaline-rush-seeking gene from me, and my husband
is usually game for anything athletic.
My friend’s husband and her two daughters were on board as well. After all, the 8 of us had visited the
Atlantis resort in the Bahamas together and all tackled the steepest, longest
waterslide I’ve ever seen. If we could
do that, we could do this.
We did
ask our 19-year-old lead guide if anyone had ever died on the course. He assured us that had never happened; if it
had, the park would no longer exist. The
safety measures they had in place were very impressive. But once you started that course, you were up
in the treetops for the duration—there is no way to get up or down. So we were told that everyone needed to use
the bathroom before hand, because if they have to rappel you down, you are
done.
He and
our other guide went through all the possible scenarios and procedures with us,
and he probably thought he’d covered any situation. He said he’d seen it all…but we ended up
proving him wrong in the first 15 minutes!The view from the treetops - 3 states visible: MD on the left, VA in the middle, WVA on the right |
There I go! |
They
space you out as you cross. My friend
was well ahead of me when she lost her footing.
She started flying backwards because she was so far uphill at that
point. She could have grabbed any of the
stationary ropes along the sides of the bridge, but instead she grabbed her zip
line, which of course was moving backwards with her. Not helpful.
So she was yelling, “I can’t stop” and dragging her heels across the
boards to try.
BOTH her
shoes came off in this process and fell about 50 feet to the ground. I had to catch her with my legs to stop us
both from continuing backwards. When we
managed to finally get over, the guide asked, “Where are your shoes?” My friend, who now had only socks and torn up
heels, was worried she would hold the group behind us up. So she said, “Forget it, I don’t need
shoes. I’m fine.”They never told us we weren't allowed to lose our shoes along the way |
Meanwhile,
we were stuck. You need 2 guides to move
forward (and shoes). The second guide
said the next group might pass us, but I pointed out there were only so many
tethers on the platform. No way could
another group of 8 come onto our platform and fit, let alone be tied safely to
the platform. They were stuck too, as was anyone behind them. So, we held up the entire course for nearly 30 minutes. Slightly embarrassing.
Let’s
just say we had a lot of laughs, finished the course, and made sure we got out
of there before the group behind us made it to the ground. And our guide got a huge tip.
You have a wonderful family who is so cool because they like trying out fun stuff too. I have encountered families who are always in contrast in terms of ideas or interests but yours is different. I'd like to hear more of your adventures soon. :)
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Thank you Rachel! It was a great bonding experience and we look forward to doing it again. Thanks for stopping by!
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