Our entire family was so excited to learn that for Auntie Jocelyn's 40th birthday- we were going to go zip lining! The whole family was excited, until Matthew and Emily learned that they were too small to join us. But never fear . . . while there was a plan for the BIG kids, there was plenty of fun planned for the SMALL kids.
We didn't have to go far for the party- just a short drive to Occidental. We barely made it in time for our canopy tour! We had a jam packed day leading up to her party and literally arrived within minutes of missing it! Thankfully, Lani met us there and then took the two little kids with her to Camp Armstrong so they could go have a fun afternoon with the other cousins.
In our group was me, Damien, Michael, Claire, Ali, Eric, Seamus, and Estefania. They other group went thirty minutes behind us. Damien and I were looking forward to zip lining again but had already done it twice before (Costa Rica and Mexico). We were so excited to be able to be there for Michael and Claire's first zip lining experience. Michael was pretty gung-ho about it while Claire was a little more nervous. I couldn't blame them for being a little timid. They are only 10 and 11 years old and this was a big deal!
We rode in the back of a pickup to the top of the mountain where we were given training on to be safe while flying 300 feet in the air! On the first ride, I had the pleasure of going first. I loved it because I got to see the kids faces as they approached the next landing. While I really thought they were going to be panicked- they came flying in with big smiles plastered across their faces!
I believe there were a total of seven zip lines. All seven were so much fun and varied in height, length and speed. We pretty laughed through the entire tour and messed and had an awesome time! There were two suspension bridges which did scare me quite a bit. I don't have a lot of fears in life- but I am not a fan of walking on high unstable surfaces where you can see through to the ground. I made a conscious effort to be brave but was quickly thrown off my game when Eric decided to jump up and down and freak me out! Also, on a side note- Ali did a great job conquering her fears. She was so nervous and did a great job!
Our tour guides were great. One of them was a little over the top with his jokes. You could tell that he lives to mess with people. He took a special interest in the kids which certainly colored their experience! On the last landing, we had to repel down 100 feet to the ground. I loved watching Michael and Claire work through their fears and conquer them! It was awesome.
We were able to see Jocelyn's zip line group one time during the tour but had to rely mostly on their laughs and hoots and hollars through the forest to know they were having a blast- just like we did! After the zip lining, we went back to the house Mark and Jocelyn had rented for the weekend and hung out. We were able to spend some time with Haripal and regroup before we headed into town for dinner.
We reunited with Matthew and Emily at the restaurant and got to hear about their awesome day at camp! They loved painting, making bracelets, running through the forest, and enjoying the mountain air with their cousins. We all settled into dinner and toasted to Jocelyn, the birthday girl, and praised her for all of the wonderful things she does for us all. Happiest of birthdays to you, Jocelyn! We had an amazing day!
No comments:
Post a Comment