Zippity Doo Daa

I did some lines for the first time this past Friday. Ziplines, that is. Don't get crazy now! And what a way to start a weekend...woohoo!!!

Marble Zip Tours opened in Corner Brook last summer and I've wanted to go ziplining ever since - especially after seeing how awesome it looked on an episode of "The Bachelorette" - leave it to me to get inspiration from reality tv.

My cousin was home back in July and I was planning to go with him and his fiance. But scheduling did not permit and I was super disappointed. With our (lack of) anniversary celebrations in mind and knowing how saddened I was, the hubster promised he'd go with me later in the summer.

And, of course, I totally jumped on that promise and ran to the computer to book our excursion. If you know Jamie then you will understand my need to IMMEDIATELY take him up on his offer. Here's the guy who wanted me to take a photo of him standing on the first step on a ladder just to prove he's "not afraid of heights"!

I gathered up a few friends (Ryan and Melanie, Autumn, and Dawson - Thanks guys, you're awesome!) and off we went to do the 5pm tour of the Steady Brook gorge with a maximum zipline height of 285 ft overlooking a waterfall. The longest zipline was somewhere just over 400 ft in length. Holy Crap!

When we pulled up to the office, Jamie wouldn't even get out of the truck, said he "wasn't ready yet!" I was pumped and headed on up to sign my life away on the waiver and pay our fees ($79 + tax = not cheap but well worth it!)

We got all strapped in and the instructors did their best to totally freak us out, being sure to let us know that we had every right to be extremely nervous...Thanks guys! That really helped the Jamie situation.

After a bumpy ride to the top, we watched the instructor jump on the zipline and then we were off. Ryan went first, brave soul, and my heart was pounding like crazy. It's frikkin high!! Autumn next, then Mel, then Dawson...next it was Jamie's turn.

He was all hooked in, ready to go, 14 people in line behind us waiting, and he says, "I can't do it!". "Ah, yes ya can," I said.
"No, I really can't"
"You just gotta walk to the edge and go!"
and everyone starts cheering him on.
"But my feet just won't move", he says.
"You have to set your mind to it and go, you can do it, you're gonna have a blast!" I remind him over and over again.
And that was it. He was done. He said his next step was to start crying. I thought it best to save him that embarrassment with all the 8-year olds watching.

I waited with him til the end but he still wouldn't go. And off I went alone. By myself. Jamie was super apologetic and I was bummed. But as I zoomed across I yelled out, "You have to do this, it's amazing!" He wasn't convinced. Apparantly, he wasn't even watching. He said he was too scared to even watch me go off the edge.

Luckily, everyone waits on the next line and I re-joined my group. Yay!! I was excited again!! Holy exhilarating!!

There were 6 lines in total, taking about 2 hours. The zip across itself takes only a few seconds. Unless you get stuck half way across, that is, like 90-lb Melanie. We were told this could happen if you don't have much weight behind you - not so much a problem for me, I was zippin' across in record time. Look out "catch" guy on the other side!

If you're ever thinking about it but aren't quite sure - let me tell you, just do it!! It's not nearly as crazy as I thought. You don't actually feel like you're jumping off and free-falling or plunging to the ground or anything - you actually feel totally stable, like you're sitting in a chair that just happens to have a great view.

And it was AMAZING!! I just wanted to go right back up the mountain and do it all over again. Now I'm trying to convince my brother to go with me while he's home on vacation, minus the hubster, who, in his own words told my parents when we got back, "Yeah, so I basically just paid 86 bucks for a ride up a hill in a Toyoto Tundra." hahahaha!