Up in the Trees Again

 Looking at the blog and realize I did not post my adventures of August 6.

Last April Rob and Amanda and Zeke came to visit, and we went to the museum.  Zeke was very excited - he felt he was too old now for the kid's version of the Tree to Tree Adventure (zip lines and ropes course) and was ready to go on the grownup course.  We tried gently to clue him in that we didn't think he was quite tall enough (you have to be 54" tall).  He was sure that if he stood on his toes just a little, and maybe fluffed up his hair, he would be there.  None of us wanted to be the heavy, so I took him over to the Tree to Tree kiosk and asked their opinion.  Nope.  54" is aabsolutely  the bare minimum, and he was about an inch short if he stood flat footed and unfluffed the hair.

Disappointment and tears ensued.

So he's been doing his best to grow.  And sometime in the first week of August, he asked Rob to measure him, and, sure enough, he was 54.5" high.  "Hooray!  I'm tall enough!  We can go this weekend!!"

Yeah, sure.  In August.  Hot, humid.  Temps in the 90's.  Heat index in the low 100's.  What fun.

And why should that matter to me?  Well, 54" is actually not quite tall enough to be able to reach up to clip onto the lines successfully - you need a taller companion.  Amanda is a wuss and will not go up.  Rob is a wuss and will not go up, but at least he had the excuse of his knee being trashed (he was having surgery in a week).  That left good ol' Aunt Ann.

Did I mention it's August?  And Amanda decided to sleep in that day (she works nights) so it was noon.  In August.

But I owe Zeke.  Every time they come to visit, he insists that they stop by the store to bring me a box of Twinkies.  I'm in his debt.

Quick flashback here.  8 years ago his older brother Dane wanted to do the Tree to Tree - and good ol' Aunt Ann was the one to go with him.  In August.  Damned near killed me.

Eight years later, I'm at it again.  I am so grateful that they don't have a third child.

(as an aside, I don't mind looking older and grayer in the second picture - after all, it's 8 years later.  But I find it annoying that I look chonkier, despite the fact that I actually weigh about 15 pounds less.  But, thanks to a gently collapsing spine, I'm about 2 inches shorter.  I'm slowly turning into a short round hobbit)

But bonding is bonding.  And I loved it when we were up in the treetops and he looked at me with his big brown eyes and said "Aunt Ann - this is the bravest thing I've ever done in my life."

There are two parts to the Tree to Tree.  The 54" height will let you go on the first part.  I was grateful for this fact; the second part is more challenging.  Did I mention the 100 degree heat index?  So I was grateful when we finished it and were down on the ground.  Except then our guide said "well, if you like you can do the first half of the second part."  My heart sank.  Zeke was ecstatic.  So we climbed up the ladder for the second part.

The weather gods were with me.  We were on the second station when the guide apologized - but the afternoon storms were coming in, lightening was on the radar, and they had to close down.  I shed no tears.  Zeke *said* he was disappointed, but I think in his heart of hearts he was also a little relieved.

But I've promised him that we can go again, and do both courses.  Maybe in November.  I am bloody through doing that in August.