Zip, Zip, Zip

Last summer, I went ziplining when we were in Juneau and I felt so bad that the kids missed out on that awesome experience.  Mother guilt.   So I promised them that they could zip as soon as they were old enough and weighed enough - as luck would have it, Henry had no problem meeting the age/weight requirements for the zip company in Whistler and Alice came in at one pound over the requirement - so we were good to go!   Yippee!

We had two fantastic guides - Dylan and Kathy - and the only other person on our tour was Barry who had just arrived in town and was planning to work for the zip company this summer.   So, it was a great group.   The company was Ziptrek Ecotours and our guides did a fantastic job educating us about the environment and sustainability.

There was a network of suspension bridges, boardwalks, trails, and treehouses.

I think Alice was more freaked out about the suspension bridges than the zipping, but she did great.  The girl was fearless!

There were stunning views over Fitzsimmons Creek.  See all those wires?  Those are the ziplines.

Alice, ready for her first zip.  Kathy was so great with both kids. I think she enjoyed it as much as we did.

Go, Alice, go!!

Then came the big zips.  The ones which were longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall.  The ones which went over the creek and you could barely see the end point, it was so far away.  Alice panicked for just a second.  But Dylan was patient, he counted her down... 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... and my girl stepped off the landing.

I was torn between bursting with pride and thinking "what kind of mother am I to let my baby do this?!"

She was so far away... just a little dot out there above that raging creek/river.  Ahhhh...

Safe and sound.  My little girl - she's my hero.  I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been willing to do that when I was seven years old. I'm so proud and so impressed that she was able to trust herself and to truly enjoy the experience.

Then back again.  By this time, Dylan or Kathy would say, "Who wants to go first?" and both Henry and Alice would shoot their hand up in the air, "Me, me, me!!!'

My favorite photo of the entire vacation.

And then there was Henry.   This boy had a blast!

Wheee!!

I loved Dylan.   What an awesome guide.  He was so patient with the kids, funny, and incredible to watch when it was his turn to zip.

Look at that smile.

There goes my boy!

Fun was had by all.

Two of the zips were so long that the kids had to tuck up in a cannonball to go as fast as they possibly could.   If you're not going fast enough, you could get stuck out there, just hanging, until a guide comes to get you.   Fortunately, that didn't happen to us.  Whew.

Happy day!

The last zip of the day was "freestyle" - you could do whatever you wanted to do.  Alice did a spread eagle and Henry and I flipped upside down.  Yes, that's right.  Upside down.  It was such a rush.   There's a truly unflattering photo of me upside down, but I deleted that one.  This is the only photo that remains.   Even if it looked strange, it was one of the funnest things I've ever done.  Woo hoo!

Back in the Village, the kids deserved huge ice cream cones.

And a warm bath.  What a day!

We then went over to meet up with family and enjoyed a great evening playing, chatting, and just spending time together.

Alice and Len could talk for hours.  My favorite Alice saying from the week: "I sure love it when Len sings."   And Len loves it when she dances.  They're a good pair.

 

And the boy cousins?  Suffice it to say, I got an iPad for my 15th wedding anniversary.  They were happy all night long.