Connor's last week and ZIPIT

We left Galway, watched Haley's practice, and then headed home to Camlin Willows.  We had one more week with Connor  before  he had to fly home to move into the dorms at the University of Iowa to start his freshman year of college.   Our big trips  were done and the week was mainly spent preparing for Connor's move and getting things in order here at home.  

For one last hurrah, we went to Lough Key Forest to do the ZipIt course. What an adventure!  They have several courses you can follow,  and you are high up in the trees crossing on wires, swinging logs, rope bridges, you name it, you  cross on it!  It is very safe as you are always connected to a wire through  your belted gear.  Connor, Haley and I managed very  well,  though they were much quicker than me!  

We first got a training session on how to lock and unlock  your connecting safety belts, and they also went over how to figure out when you had to connect the third lock and when not to.  They had us do a mini practice course to learn everything we  needed to know, and then we were on our own!!  

We skipped the first two smaller courses and went right to the White Course, as our guide had suggested.   Connor went first, then me, then Haley.  You have to wait for the person in front of you to get across before you start out, and only 3 people can be on a platform at the same time.  It was a bit freaky because it is fairly high up, but the course went well with ladders to climb and zip lines to conquer and it was really lots of fun - even with all the rain which pelted  us right from the start!

After that, you can move onto the Blue Course.  I was a little concerned because the  White Course took some real effort and the Blue Course is harder, but the kids thought I would  be fine and so we started the Blue Course.   It  was raining, things were slippery,  and the  very first part was climbing to a  platform and then walking across a wire from one tree to the next while holding onto a  hanging cable.  We switched our order.  Haley went first,  Connor  second,  and I went last.  In trying to get across on the first one, the wire you are walking on starts to slant upward,  so you have to  lean forward or you will  fall back.  Haley crossed and immediately set out on  the next one which was swinging logs. Connor crossed and (thankfully) waited on the platform for me.  As I started  going forward, I thought it wasn't too bad, but then the line started it's upward slant and I wasn't  leaning  foward - I  started going backwards - sailing back to start as if on a zip line, Connor was getting smaller as I hurtled back to  start...

Okay, it isn't really that long a distance, but I did lose foward momentum,  started sliding back, caught my foot on the line and bruised the crap out of my ankle as I struggled like a spider on a web blowing in the breeze!  Connor had this look on his face like, "Don't laugh, Connor, don't laugh!" and we both laughed as I  finally caught my balance back at the start.  I thought  about scrapping  it, but Connor  told me to try  again.  My biggest fear was that I would lose balance and be hanging there helplessly until someone climbed up to get me down!  Still, I struck out on the line again and leaned forward  until   I got to the second platform - yay!  Then  it  was swinging logs?! We were awfully high up and there were two areas where we climbed ladders to go up even higher.  Then we got to where there were several  zip lines and it was GREAT!   We were flying  through the trees and the rain and it was exhilarating!  The final part was climbing across a lattice rope sideways to a platform, you lock up to a cable on a pulley, and  then  the  guy at the bottom says, okay now jump - Excuse me?!  at first I thought it was going to be like my first  time on the diving board -  when I NEVER jumped in!  But eventually I realized that it wasn't so bad, after all, Connor and Haley made it down, so I threw caution to the wind and jumped off!  Once I was at the bottom I was glad I had done the Blue Course.  

The final and hardest course is the Red Course - but we didn't  have time  to  do it.  We will go back when Connor is here again and finish it.  It truly was a fantastic adventure. There were ladders to climb and zip lines to conquer and it rained on us from start to finish!  By the end we were soaking wet - hair plastered to our heads, shorts and shirts dripping, socks soaked and shoes slippery wet,  but we were all smiling.  It was such a fun thing to do - in any weather!

We  didn't get any  pictures, but they have a web site which is www.zipit.ie and  I recommend going to it and reading the May 28 blog submission by Niamh Geraghty - it is hilarious!