PURPLE DOOR HOME: Feeling Adventurous?

We don't leave the cottage very often. We are very content to just stay here and hang out on the lake. Our excursion to the waterfalls and today were the exception of the summer. But fun nonetheless. Today we headed to Mount Sunapee which is about 10 miles from our cottage. It took about 20 minutes to get there and our GPS took us over dirt roads and up and down huge hills. It was a gorgeous drive in summer time but might be a bit hairy in winter with snow on the roads. We tried a more circuitous route on the way home that seemed a little safer for a winter pass. We decided to do the Mount Sunapee "Play All Day" package which included an Aerial Challenge Course, Mini-Golf, Ride on the Chairlift to the top of the Mountain, Disc Golf, Climbing Tower and Airbag Jump. We thought we would just do the Challenge Course and the Ride to the top of the Mountain and that maybe the kids would try the climbing tower and airbag jump. We arrived at 11:30 and had plenty of time to do everything (although we only made a lame attempt at the disc golf).

After the beginner course when everything seemed easy peasy!

We started with the Aerial Challenge Course. They put on your safety harnesses and teach the kids how to do the zip line portion on a mini one basically 6 feet from the ground. You start on a beginner course which feels quite tricky at first. Until you get to the second, third and fourth courses. I grew up doing a ropes course like this as a kid at family camp. My parents remember feeling my tears like raindrops while they stood on the ground below watching me in full terror crossing the tightrope 35 feet in the air. They would have been proud of me today. I bit my tongue, only swore and got tears in my eyes once and at the same moment (when I fell off a skateboard 30-40 feet in the air and got rope burns on my armpits). I continued on and zip lined to my finish. The kids and Rod went on to the fourth course. I was done. The fourth course was 10 feet higher, was more physically challenging and included swings (which make me nauseous when I have my feet on the ground). I was glad to be on the ground again taking pictures of my brave girls and my husband who tried every which way to challenge himself (sorry there are no pictures of him..he was the brave one that wasn't encircling the trees on the platforms with both arms and could actually let go to take a picture). The girls worked together to help each other cross different challenges and really were amazing up there. For a mom who has had a fear of heights since I was a child and continues to have stress dreams that involve me jumping from one high height to another and missing I was so amazed and in awe of all of them. Rod of course makes the whole course look easy. There was one point on the course when he was encouraging me from behind when I reminded him that I'd prefer he act like I was in childbirth (Don't talk! At all! Especially when I'm focusing on not loosing my cool!) He was great and so encouraging but I told him to not even try to guilt me into do the fourth course because it was NOT HAPPENING!

Cheering me on in the middle of one of her most difficult challenges.

Kelsey doing dance moves 30 feet in the air.

There was definitely some tree hugging. It felt so good to get to the different canopies between challenges.

Funny you can't see me trembling in the pictures. Haley was so sweet on the canopy ahead of me encouraging me when she saw true fear in my eyes. She kept saying "You can do it Mommy, you can do it!" I would hear the other girls who were a few challenges ahead of me cheering me on too. I think they all knew that this was harder on me than any of them.

The girls made it look easy!

They were so great at encouraging each other and showing each other the ropes!

Nothing to hold on to except for your own safety line! Very hard to take that first step..

But I did...I didn't know the hardest part was ahead.
In the form of that green skateboard in the sky. The girls made it look easy.
I finally got the courage to step on it and was left hanging up in the sky by my armpits
as it zoomed away from under me. I then had to scoot back to the platform using my armpits. Wanted to ask
for a belay to the ground right then. My glasses fogged up from the tears in
my eyes so I had to hand them to Rod. Then and there I knew I wasn't doing the 4th course.

But this was the only way back to getting my feet on the ground again...

Not really smiling. Can't believe they roped me into this!

So glad to have my feet on the ground watching this one!
This challenge was the main reason I didn't do the 4th course.

As if one adventure wasn't enough we decided to refuel before heading to the next challenge. We were all famished. I felt like I'd had 5 cups of coffee from all the adrenaline. After a great lunch at the base lodge we headed to the climbing tower and the Airbag Jump. Kelsey and Haley went right up and did the airbag. Harder to land on their bottoms than they thought so they never made it to the higher jump. Rod and I went later and Lindsay tried several times but just couldn't take that final step. She gave it a go though. I told her if chicken little (me!) could do it than she definitely could. Wasn't happening. At least not today. On the other hand she makes the climbing tower look so easy. The man working their attached her to the belay and then went to add Rod to his. Before he looked back she was already at the top. She is a monkey that one! She tried all of the different courses.