Wild Play

Saturday July 6th – The weather was changing our plans quickly. Rain was forecasted for the next 10 days north of Nanaimo which is where we were headed. So, after trying to rent a car and get it picked up (turned into a very long ordeal) we decided to drive to Wild Play, a zip line and ropes course adventure park.

We booked the standard and advanced ropes course, a zip line tour, the WTF (What To Fear) jump and Skylar convinced me to do the Primal Swing with him. The place was huge, and much more elaborate than I expected.

First up was the ropes course that had some cool zip lines along the way. We started out on the easier course and worked our way up to the advanced. Ava was especially super excited. After some challenges getting her safety line moving through the course, she rocked it without any fear. It was super fun and a lot more of a challenge than we expected.

Then the WTF Jump. After climbing a 60’ ladder up a tree to a little perch, you connect your harness to a mechanism that allows you to free fall for 20’ or so then starts to slow you down as you near death on the earth’s surface. The tough part is actually jumping off, but Skylar did it without much problem then Ava was even super brave and jumped off without even much hesitation. They both said it was super fun! I was next. It took a little more for me to make the leap but after a minute or so, I did it.

Then Julie. This was not going to be easy. The guy supervising the jump defiantly had his work cut out for him! She got to the top, then said she was coming down. We all said no way; the only way down is for you to jump! There was a whole lot of conversation up there that I couldn’t completely understand but I knew exactly what was being said. “is this safe? What if this, what if that? No, I can’t do it, I’m really scared.” We all urged her on from the bottom as she told the supervisor “I’m not trying to be rude, but can you please just be quiet” referring to his countdown to get her to jump. Finally, eyes shut tight, she jumped off and landed softly in the dirt. Hart pounding, she said that was the worst thing she has ever done.

Then the Primal Swing Skylar and I signed up for. Things were looking a little more freaky than I signed up for. A bridge, high above a canyon, complete with a river flowing below, would be the launch point for the swing. You swing two at a time, tied together but hanging in your own harness. As we approached the launch point two young girls were just about to get shoved off the edge. We watched them swing off and that’s when I started to feel the butterflies. But it wasn’t our turn yet. Two guys in their 20’s were next, just in front of us. I asked them if they were scared and they both said, “no not at all, it’s going to be fun”. Ok, I thought if these guys are not scared, I can do this. Then I watched the process of them getting harnessed in and on the edge of the bridge. They said it’s a 150’ free fall before the lines of the swing catch you and swing you back up toward the sky again. These two 20 something tough guys turned into frightened little dogs. One of them literally couldn’t stop shaking and the other nervously asked the attendant a bunch of questions that sounded like – “Is this Ok, are you sure this is hooked up right, my harness seems loose, wait a minute, not yet……….”. Then the once happy go lucky men turned quivering puppies were literally pushed off the edge.

All of that literally pushed me off the edge and I turned to Skylar and said, “I can’t do it, I’m too old and I just plain don’t want to”. He called me a few names. I really did feel bad for him, but it just was not fun, way too much anxiety and I had no idea what I was really signing up for when I originally said I would do it. I completely wimped out.

Julie and Ava were watching from a view point down below. I marched down there with resolve in my decision. Julie was FaceTiming her dad so he could see the drop and she had no idea Skylar and I came down. She did a double take and said, “I thought you were up there, what are you doing”? “I can’t do it, I’m not going to do it, I’m 44 years old and I don’t want to”. I said with authority. She called me a wimp too, but I didn’t care!

Skylar got lucky and still got to do it. One of the workers, a cute young girl just a little older than Skylar, went with him. Skylar looked excited, and I was happy for him, but that sure didn’t make me feel any better. He got a little nervous too just before shoving off but pulled through and loved it!

All and all a great fun day at Wild Play. Julie conquered her fear on the WTF jump and I totally wimped out on the Primal Swing just to have a young cute girl take my place.